California
Businesses sue state over new workplace law
California businesses are suing to halt a new state law that bars them from requiring employees to attend anti-union meetings at work.
The state’s Chamber of Commerce and California Restaurant Association filed the suit in federal court on New Year’s Eve, a day before the new law was to go into effect, seeking to block it from being enforced.
The law prohibits employers from disciplining workers who refuse to attend workplace meetings to hear about their bosses’ “opinion about religious or political matters” — including whether or not employees should unionize. Businesses could be fined $500 a day for violations.
Labor groups said these so-called captive audience meetings intimidate workers out of exercising their right to unionize; business groups argued it interferes with employers’ right to free speech, including discussing how political or policy developments affect their workplaces.
The law, authored by Hayward Democratic Sen. Aisha Wahab, was one of organized labor’s few victories in the 2024 legislative session. California joined about 10 other mostly Democratic states in enacting similar laws amid a surge of labor organizing in recent years. Expecting the Trump administration to be less favorable to them, unions have been counting on the state law to help preserve the more organizing-friendly environment of the past four years.
For example: the National Labor Relations Board, which has for decades generally allowed employers to hold so-called captive audience meetings, in November issued a ruling calling them illegal. But Amazon, the employer in that case, is contesting the ruling and labor experts expect the board to reverse its position under Trump. In that case, the California ban on the meetings would still apply.
But the suit challenging the law is no surprise. Businesses have already sued over similar laws in other states. Wisconsin in 2009 was one of the first states to ban such meetings; when employers filed suit the following year, arguing it conflicted with federal law, the state backed down and agreed not to enforce it. In Oregon, however, a court dismissed a similar challenge brought by the last Trump administration.
The California business groups, in their lawsuit, said the law violates the First Amendment and conflicts with the federal National Labor Relations Act. It prevents employers, they said, from “sharing true facts” with workers including the cost of union dues, “unions’ interference with employer-employee relationships, unions’ prioritization of the collective over the individual employees, and the financial impacts on employers.”
Florida
Fubo combining with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV; lawsuit against Venu Sports settled
Disney’s Hulu + Live TV and sports streaming service Fubo are combining in a deal that will also see the settlement of a lawsuit against the creation of Venu Sports.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV both allow customers to stream live broadcast and cable networks on their connected TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and other internet-connected devices.
The combined company, which Disney will have a 70% stake in, will operate under Fubo’s publicly traded company name and be led by Fubo’s existing management team. Fubo and Hulu + Live TV have a combined 6.2 million North American subscribers.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will still be available to consumers as separate offerings once the transaction closes.
“This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility,” Fubo CEO David Gandler said in a statement. “Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow.”
Disney has committed to a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. There’s also a $130 million termination fee payable to Fubo under certain circumstances.
Disney said it will also enter into a new deal with Fubo that will allow Fubo to create a new sports and broadcast service that features Disney’s sports and broadcast networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN+.
The companies said that Fubo has settled all litigation with Disney and ESPN related to Venu Sports, the sports streaming platform that was planned by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Fubo has also settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
In August a federal judge granted Fubo’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Venu Sports. Last month the same judge dismissed Venu’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Pennsylvania
MLB Players Association affiliate withdraws image lawsuit against Pirates’ parent company
PITTSBURGH (AP) — An affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association withdrew its lawsuit against the parent company of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. that alleged unlicensed use of players’ names and images on social media.
MLB Players Inc., a union business subsidiary, filed a complaint on Aug. 14 in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh claiming violation of Pennsylvania law regarding the unauthorized use of name and likenesses, common law misappropriation of identity and unjust enrichment. MLB Players Inc. asked for an injunction against the team and Sheetz in addition to damages.
The team said the following day that a verbal agreement had been reached. MLB Players Inc. filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Dec. 23 in the suit, which named Pittsburgh Associates and Sheetz as defendants.
The Pirates announced a jersey patch sponsorship deal with Sheetz on June 21. The suit alleged posts on Instagram, X and Facebook by the team and Sheetz improperly used the images of Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, Nick Gonzales, Carmen Mlodzinski and Connor Joe.
Another likeness lawsuit filed by MLB Players against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Sept. 16 is pending.
MLB Players also sued FanDuel and Underdog Sports in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 16, alleging improper use of names, images and likenesses. The suit was shifted to federal court in Manhattan on Oct. 18. MLB and FanDuel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court on Nov. 19 that was approved by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams. The suit against Underdog remains pending.
New York
CFPB sues Walmart, Branch alleging illegal pay practices for gig drivers
NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued Walmart and work scheduling platform Branch Messenger for allegedly forcing delivery drivers that are part of the discounter’s gig program to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and mispresented how they could access their wages.
The agency alleged last week that for approximately two years starting in 2021, Walmart and Branch violated federal law by forcing 1 million drivers on its so-called Spark program to use Branch to get paid and that they would terminate workers who didn’t want to use these accounts. Walmart’s Spark program uses gig workers who make deliveries from Walmart stores nationwide on so-called “last mile” deliveries.
CFPB also claims that Walmart and Branch misled workers about the availability of same-day access to their earnings. It said that the drivers had to follow a complex process to access their funds, and when they finally did, they faced further delays or fees if they needed to transfer the money they earned into an account of their choice.
The practice resulted in workers paying more than $10 million in fees, the agency said.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement released Dec. 23. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.”
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Friday, a Walmart spokesperson called the lawsuit “rushed” and said it was “riddled with factual errors and contains exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law. “
“The CFPB never allowed Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during their rushed investigation,” the statement said. “We look forward to vigorously defending the company before a court that, unlike the CFPB, honors the due process of law.”
Branch, based in Minneapolis, said in an emailed statement to The AP that it strongly disagrees with the lawsuit filed by the CFPB, which Branch said misstates the law and facts, and includes intentional omissions to mask the bureau’s clear overreach.
“Branch has provided Walmart and their driver partners valuable services allowing quick and easy access to funds via their business accounts—a key fact the bureau’s press release omits,” the statement said.
Nevada
Man charged in Tupac Shakur killing files motion to dismiss case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An ex-gang leader is seeking to have all the charges against him dismissed in the 1990s killing of rap music icon Tupac Shakur.
Attorney Carl Arnold filed the motion on Monday in the District Court of Nevada to dismiss charges against Duane Davis in the 1996 shooting of Shakur. The motion alleges “egregious” constitutional violations because of a 27-year delay in prosecution. The motion also asserts a lack of corroborating evidence and failure to honor immunity agreements granted to Davis by federal and local authorities.
“The prosecution has failed to justify a decades-long delay that has irreversibly prejudiced my client,” Arnold said in a news release. “Moreover, the failure to honor immunity agreements undermines the criminal justice system’s integrity and seriously questions this prosecution.”
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the filing. He has said evidence against Davis is strong and it will be up to a jury to decide the credibility of Davis’ accounts of the shooting including those in a 2019 memoir.
Davis is originally from Compton, California. He was arrested in the case in September 2023 near Las Vegas. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has sought to be released since shortly after his arrest.
Davis is accused of orchestrating and enabling the shooting that killed Shakur and wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight after a brawl at a Las Vegas Strip casino involving Shakur and Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Authorities have said that the gunfire stemmed from competition between East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect and West Coast groups of a Crips sect, including Davis, for dominance in a genre known at the time as “gangsta rap.”
In interviews and a 2019 tell-all memoir that described his life as a leader of a Crips gang sect in Compton, Davis said he obtained a .40-caliber handgun and handed it to Anderson in the back seat of a car from which he and authorities say shots were fired at Shakur and Knight in another car at an intersection near the Las Vegas Strip. Davis didn’t identify Anderson as the shooter.
Shakur died a week later in a nearby hospital. He was 25. Knight survived and is serving a 28-year prison sentence in connection with the killing of a Compton man in 2015.
Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s death and died in 1998 at age 23 in a shooting in Compton. The other two men in the car are also dead.
A Las Vegas police detective testified to a grand jury that police do not have the gun that was used to shoot at Shakur and Knight, nor did they find the vehicle from which shots were fired.
Businesses sue state over new workplace law
California businesses are suing to halt a new state law that bars them from requiring employees to attend anti-union meetings at work.
The state’s Chamber of Commerce and California Restaurant Association filed the suit in federal court on New Year’s Eve, a day before the new law was to go into effect, seeking to block it from being enforced.
The law prohibits employers from disciplining workers who refuse to attend workplace meetings to hear about their bosses’ “opinion about religious or political matters” — including whether or not employees should unionize. Businesses could be fined $500 a day for violations.
Labor groups said these so-called captive audience meetings intimidate workers out of exercising their right to unionize; business groups argued it interferes with employers’ right to free speech, including discussing how political or policy developments affect their workplaces.
The law, authored by Hayward Democratic Sen. Aisha Wahab, was one of organized labor’s few victories in the 2024 legislative session. California joined about 10 other mostly Democratic states in enacting similar laws amid a surge of labor organizing in recent years. Expecting the Trump administration to be less favorable to them, unions have been counting on the state law to help preserve the more organizing-friendly environment of the past four years.
For example: the National Labor Relations Board, which has for decades generally allowed employers to hold so-called captive audience meetings, in November issued a ruling calling them illegal. But Amazon, the employer in that case, is contesting the ruling and labor experts expect the board to reverse its position under Trump. In that case, the California ban on the meetings would still apply.
But the suit challenging the law is no surprise. Businesses have already sued over similar laws in other states. Wisconsin in 2009 was one of the first states to ban such meetings; when employers filed suit the following year, arguing it conflicted with federal law, the state backed down and agreed not to enforce it. In Oregon, however, a court dismissed a similar challenge brought by the last Trump administration.
The California business groups, in their lawsuit, said the law violates the First Amendment and conflicts with the federal National Labor Relations Act. It prevents employers, they said, from “sharing true facts” with workers including the cost of union dues, “unions’ interference with employer-employee relationships, unions’ prioritization of the collective over the individual employees, and the financial impacts on employers.”
Florida
Fubo combining with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV; lawsuit against Venu Sports settled
Disney’s Hulu + Live TV and sports streaming service Fubo are combining in a deal that will also see the settlement of a lawsuit against the creation of Venu Sports.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV both allow customers to stream live broadcast and cable networks on their connected TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and other internet-connected devices.
The combined company, which Disney will have a 70% stake in, will operate under Fubo’s publicly traded company name and be led by Fubo’s existing management team. Fubo and Hulu + Live TV have a combined 6.2 million North American subscribers.
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will still be available to consumers as separate offerings once the transaction closes.
“This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility,” Fubo CEO David Gandler said in a statement. “Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow.”
Disney has committed to a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. There’s also a $130 million termination fee payable to Fubo under certain circumstances.
Disney said it will also enter into a new deal with Fubo that will allow Fubo to create a new sports and broadcast service that features Disney’s sports and broadcast networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN+.
The companies said that Fubo has settled all litigation with Disney and ESPN related to Venu Sports, the sports streaming platform that was planned by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Fubo has also settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
In August a federal judge granted Fubo’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Venu Sports. Last month the same judge dismissed Venu’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Pennsylvania
MLB Players Association affiliate withdraws image lawsuit against Pirates’ parent company
PITTSBURGH (AP) — An affiliate of the Major League Baseball Players Association withdrew its lawsuit against the parent company of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. that alleged unlicensed use of players’ names and images on social media.
MLB Players Inc., a union business subsidiary, filed a complaint on Aug. 14 in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh claiming violation of Pennsylvania law regarding the unauthorized use of name and likenesses, common law misappropriation of identity and unjust enrichment. MLB Players Inc. asked for an injunction against the team and Sheetz in addition to damages.
The team said the following day that a verbal agreement had been reached. MLB Players Inc. filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Dec. 23 in the suit, which named Pittsburgh Associates and Sheetz as defendants.
The Pirates announced a jersey patch sponsorship deal with Sheetz on June 21. The suit alleged posts on Instagram, X and Facebook by the team and Sheetz improperly used the images of Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, Nick Gonzales, Carmen Mlodzinski and Connor Joe.
Another likeness lawsuit filed by MLB Players against DraftKings Inc. and Bet365 Group Ltd. in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Sept. 16 is pending.
MLB Players also sued FanDuel and Underdog Sports in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 16, alleging improper use of names, images and likenesses. The suit was shifted to federal court in Manhattan on Oct. 18. MLB and FanDuel filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with the court on Nov. 19 that was approved by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams. The suit against Underdog remains pending.
New York
CFPB sues Walmart, Branch alleging illegal pay practices for gig drivers
NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued Walmart and work scheduling platform Branch Messenger for allegedly forcing delivery drivers that are part of the discounter’s gig program to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and mispresented how they could access their wages.
The agency alleged last week that for approximately two years starting in 2021, Walmart and Branch violated federal law by forcing 1 million drivers on its so-called Spark program to use Branch to get paid and that they would terminate workers who didn’t want to use these accounts. Walmart’s Spark program uses gig workers who make deliveries from Walmart stores nationwide on so-called “last mile” deliveries.
CFPB also claims that Walmart and Branch misled workers about the availability of same-day access to their earnings. It said that the drivers had to follow a complex process to access their funds, and when they finally did, they faced further delays or fees if they needed to transfer the money they earned into an account of their choice.
The practice resulted in workers paying more than $10 million in fees, the agency said.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement released Dec. 23. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.”
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Friday, a Walmart spokesperson called the lawsuit “rushed” and said it was “riddled with factual errors and contains exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law. “
“The CFPB never allowed Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during their rushed investigation,” the statement said. “We look forward to vigorously defending the company before a court that, unlike the CFPB, honors the due process of law.”
Branch, based in Minneapolis, said in an emailed statement to The AP that it strongly disagrees with the lawsuit filed by the CFPB, which Branch said misstates the law and facts, and includes intentional omissions to mask the bureau’s clear overreach.
“Branch has provided Walmart and their driver partners valuable services allowing quick and easy access to funds via their business accounts—a key fact the bureau’s press release omits,” the statement said.
Nevada
Man charged in Tupac Shakur killing files motion to dismiss case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An ex-gang leader is seeking to have all the charges against him dismissed in the 1990s killing of rap music icon Tupac Shakur.
Attorney Carl Arnold filed the motion on Monday in the District Court of Nevada to dismiss charges against Duane Davis in the 1996 shooting of Shakur. The motion alleges “egregious” constitutional violations because of a 27-year delay in prosecution. The motion also asserts a lack of corroborating evidence and failure to honor immunity agreements granted to Davis by federal and local authorities.
“The prosecution has failed to justify a decades-long delay that has irreversibly prejudiced my client,” Arnold said in a news release. “Moreover, the failure to honor immunity agreements undermines the criminal justice system’s integrity and seriously questions this prosecution.”
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the filing. He has said evidence against Davis is strong and it will be up to a jury to decide the credibility of Davis’ accounts of the shooting including those in a 2019 memoir.
Davis is originally from Compton, California. He was arrested in the case in September 2023 near Las Vegas. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has sought to be released since shortly after his arrest.
Davis is accused of orchestrating and enabling the shooting that killed Shakur and wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight after a brawl at a Las Vegas Strip casino involving Shakur and Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
Authorities have said that the gunfire stemmed from competition between East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect and West Coast groups of a Crips sect, including Davis, for dominance in a genre known at the time as “gangsta rap.”
In interviews and a 2019 tell-all memoir that described his life as a leader of a Crips gang sect in Compton, Davis said he obtained a .40-caliber handgun and handed it to Anderson in the back seat of a car from which he and authorities say shots were fired at Shakur and Knight in another car at an intersection near the Las Vegas Strip. Davis didn’t identify Anderson as the shooter.
Shakur died a week later in a nearby hospital. He was 25. Knight survived and is serving a 28-year prison sentence in connection with the killing of a Compton man in 2015.
Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s death and died in 1998 at age 23 in a shooting in Compton. The other two men in the car are also dead.
A Las Vegas police detective testified to a grand jury that police do not have the gun that was used to shoot at Shakur and Knight, nor did they find the vehicle from which shots were fired.
