Ninth Circuit Keeps CA’s Captive Audience Ban On Ice

On October 29, 2026, in California Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Eastern District of California’s preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of California’s “captive audience” meeting law, which prohibits employers from conducting mandatory meetings about certain issues. In the past two decades, a dozen states have adopted similar laws to ban captive audience meetings, but California’s is the first to be enjoined by a federal appellate court.

Background

As we reported here, California’s Senate Bill (SB) 399, which took effect on January 1, 2025, bars employers from taking adverse action against or threatening any employee who refuses to attend a meeting or receive communications that convey “the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters.” The law broadly defines “political matters” to include an employer’s opinion on the decision to join or support a political or labor organization (i.e., union). The law imposes a $500 per employee, per