SCOTUS Requests Responses in Freedom Foundation Case Challenging California Laws Surrounding Public Employee Orientations

Arielle Brown
September 19, 2025

State makes the time, date, and location of new employee orientations secret

Washington, D.C. — The United States Supreme Court has taken the next step in Freedom Foundation v. Rita Gail Turner, et al., requesting responses from the defendants after the Freedom Foundation filed a petition for certiorari challenging California’s secrecy laws surrounding new public employee orientations.

At issue is whether California can lawfully withhold quintessentially public information — the time, date, and location of new employee orientations — from everyone but public sector unions, thereby preserving those unions’ exclusive access to new hires.

Unions use new employee orientations as recruiting grounds for membership, while disallowing any alternative viewpoint to the union’s message.

The Los Angeles Unified School District denied the Freedom Foundation’s public records request for the time and place of new employee orientations, and the District Court and 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that denial.

The Freedom Foundation argues that California’s law violates both the First Amendment and the public’s right to access government-held information.

By requesting responses, the Supreme Court signaled interest in further examining whether states can constitutionally restrict access in ways that favor unions.

“This case is about transparency and accountability,” said Aaron Withe, Freedom Foundation CEO. “California has handed government unions a state-sponsored monopoly on new employee orientations. Workers deserve to know their rights — not just what union bosses want to tell them.”

“This is an encouraging development,” added Shella Alcabes, Freedom Foundation litigation counsel. “The court doesn’t ask for responses in every case. It shows there’s something here worth looking at.”

Case Background: