Although the threat of COVID-19 (remember that?) seems to have diminished considerably over the past five years, once upon a time in Hollywood many production companies (along with other employers) required employees to be vaccinated upon pain of losing their job.
In early 2022, Apple Studios LLC conditionally offered actor Brent Sexton the role of U.S. President Andrew Johnson in its production of Manhunt, a limited series about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. One of the conditions for Sexton's casting was that he be fully vaccinated, in compliance with Apple's mandatory on-set vaccination policy. Sexton refused to get vaccinated, seeking an exemption on medical grounds. After considering Sexton's request, Apple ultimately decided that an unvaccinated actor could not safely be accommodated on set and withdrew Sexton's offer. Sexton sued Apple for disability discrimination and related claims.
In response, Apple filed a motion to strike Sexton's complaint under California's anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ("anti-SLAPP") law, which authorizes early dismissal of "lawsuits brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances." The trial court denied Apple's motion, but the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that (1) Apple's decision not to cast Sexton was in fact "protected expressive conduct" under the First Amendment; and (2)...
Donald Trump’s administration is on pace to have one of the worst years for in decades following the recent deaths of a Canadian citizen and a Cuban man in federal custody. A 75-year-old Cuban man ...