Newsom signs California bill banning ‘captive audience’ work meetings

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday afternoon signed a bill that will prevent businesses from requiring employees to attend “captive audience” meetings, or mandatory workplace meetings with religious with political messaging — particularly, anti-union messaging.

State Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Silicon Valley, introduced the bill in 2023, but requested it be held in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations “to ensure the final legislation was legally sound,” she said in a statement Friday. She reintroduced it in June, and it received broad support among her fellow Democrats. Republicans opposed the bill, along with business and industry groups such as the California Farm Bureau, Housing Contractors of California, United Contractors and the California Chamber of Commerce.

The bill “is about fairness and equity in the workplace,” Wahab said in the statement. “Captive audience meetings disrupt the balance of power by forcing workers to attend meetings unrelated to their jobs, often under threat of retaliation … This bill ensures employees can focus on their work without coercion, creating a fairer and more respectful environment.”

When Wahab’s bill goes into effect in January 2025, the California Labor Commissioner will have the authority to fine an employer $500 for “subjecting, or threatening to subject, an employee to discharge, discrimination, retaliation, or any other adverse action” if the employee does not attend a captive audience meeting.

Captive audience meetings often require employees to hear anti-union messages.

“For far too long, employers have used the power they have over workers to hold them hostage in meetings aimed at imposing political, religious, or even anti-union views that don’t align with workers’ beliefs,” said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, in a written statement.

The bill “empowers workers to stand their ground with bosses and refuse to participate in these coercive meetings without fear of retaliation. SEIU members thank Governor Newsom for standing up against coercion in the workplace and Senator Wahab for championing this necessary worker protection.”

Newsom said he was proud to sign the bill, which was sponsored by the California Federation of Labor Unions and received support from many of the states biggest unions, including SEIU.

California is now one of 10 states to implement such a law. Another is Minnesota, where Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, signed a similar measure into law last year.