CNN Gets Partial Win Using Free Speech Law to Defend Bias Case (1)

CNN and other media organizations may use a California free speech law to block lawsuits alleging workplace bias or retaliation, if those cases might also discourage an entity’s First Amendment rights, a unanimous California Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling gives the AT&T-owned Cable News Network a little extra breathing room to defend against a black ex-producer’s discrimination and retaliation lawsuit if it can show the allegations may quash its right to free speech.

The much-awaited ruling is the latest for employers attempting to stretch California’s anti-strategic lawsuits against public participation, or anti-SLAPP, law to swat away workers’ lawsuits. The anti-SLAPP ...