by Elaine Chen
In a recent Legal Aid at Work political speech case, we settled Lauren Gaw’s lawsuit against Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA)–a case that underscores an employee’s right to express their political views. This right stems from Sections 1101 and 1102 of the California Labor Code, which make it unlawful for employers to threaten, retaliate against, or otherwise interfere with employees engaging in political activity.
As we resolve Lauren’s case, we are reflecting on our broader work safeguarding free speech in the workplace. These cases highlight the importance of defending an employee’s right to political speech without fear of intimidation or retaliation. Through our litigation against healthcare companies, big technology firms, and universities, we’ve been upholding the values that strengthen democracy during a time when suppression of political speech has become the norm.
Bridge to Humanity (December 2024)
In the months following October 7, 2023, a group of employees at Cisco Systems, Inc. began organizing under the name “Bridge to Humanity” (B2H) to express support for Palestine and share concerns about Cisco providing technology to the Israeli military and government in violation of Cisco’s Global Human Rights Policy and Code of Business Conduct. The advocacy included circulation of an Open Letter expressing their views to Cisco leadership, which was signed by more than 1,700 Cisco employees. However, Cisco took down the Open Letter, preventing the document from gathering any more signatures.
Since then, members of B2H, as well as the Open Letter’s signatories, have been subjected to harassment by coworkers because of their political advocacy for Palestinians–harassment that was repeatedly reported but went unaddressed by Cisco Corporate Security. In addition, some B2H members have been terminated despite their record of high performance and lack of prior discipline.
This behavior is a sharp deviation from Cisco’s previous endorsements of political activity, including its expression of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ rights, and for Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion.
We filed complaints in December 2024 with the California Labor Commissioner, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board alleging interference with employee political activity, failure to prevent harassment based on national origin and religion, and interference with protected activity for the purpose of “mutual aid or protection.”
Lauren Gaw (June 2025)
In June 2025, Legal Aid at Work filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Lauren Gaw, a San Diego registered nurse who alleged she was unjustly terminated for displaying stickers in support of Palestine and opposing Israel’s conduct in Gaza on her personal water bottles at work.
Lauren began working at SCA, an outpatient surgical facility, in April 2023. Prior to the events giving rise to the lawsuit, she had never received any negative performance evaluations, nor had she faced disciplinary action of any kind.
The complaint alleges that in January 2024, Lauren was accosted by a doctor who admonished her about the stickers and told her not to bring the water bottle to work again, asserting that “work is not a place to be political.” The following week, when Lauren brought in her only other water bottle, with a different sticker about Palestine, she was called into a meeting with her supervisors, who characterized her stickers as “harassment” and instructed her to put the second bottle in her locker, which she did — despite never being told what policies if any she had violated. Subsequently, after another SCA doctor verbally attacked Lauren in front of other employees over her support for Palestine, Lauren was suspended and, ultimately, fired.
We alleged that Lauren’s stickers constituted protected political activity under California Labor Code Sections 1101 and 1102, and that SCA violated those statutes when it fired her. The parties then reached a confidential settlement.
Dr. Wendy Feng (April 2026)
Legal Aid at Work represents Dr. Wendy (Wen) Feng in their retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner. A former professor at Stanford Medical School, Dr. Feng alleged that the university wrongfully terminated them because of their political activities and affiliations disfavored by Stanford.
Dr. Feng attended a health advocacy event in January 2025 called “Sick from Genocide”–part of a nationwide protest organized by Doctors Against Genocide, meant to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Even though Dr. Feng did not attend this event while they were working, they were approached by leadership at the medical school, who expressed concerns regarding their participation. Ultimately, Dr. Feng was fired in April 2025. The complaint details how Stanford’s discipline and termination of Dr. Feng amounted to viewpoint suppression and retaliation for their political activity in support of Palestinians.
Our Commitment to Upholding Political Speech Rights for All Workers
These cases reflect a startling pattern of workers being singled out and facing selective punishment for expressing their political views in accordance with California law. We won’t back down from fighting for workers experiencing such treatment. If you are a worker and think you have been discriminated against by your employer for engaging in political activity, you can contact Legal Aid at Work at (415) 404-9093 or visit legalaidatwork.org. You can also review the LAAW fact sheet below for more information on your rights related to political speech in the workplace:
Fact Sheet on Your Right as an Employee to Engage in Political Activity