A pair of advocacy groups has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture, alleging the agency is unlawfully concealing critical information about the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The civil action, brought by California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. and the First Amendment Coalition, claims the state’s agriculture department has illegally refused to release public records that identify the locations of dairy farms where the virus has been detected and quarantines have been established.
The lawsuit argues that this lack of transparency directly endangers the health and safety of farmworkers and the broader public by preventing advocates from verifying whether proper safety protocols are being implemented at infected sites. Filed in Sacramento, the petition contends that the department’s refusal to disclose details about the hundreds of dairies it has placed under quarantine violates the California Public Records Act. The legal challenge comes nearly a year after Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the H5N1 outbreak, a declaration that explicitly stated Californians should have access to accurate and up-to-date information regarding the disease.
Legal Challenge Invokes State Transparency Laws
The lawsuit, filed on November 3, 2025, centers on the state’s obligation to provide public access to government records. The plaintiffs, California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) and the First Amendment Coalition (FAC), assert that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has repeatedly and unlawfully denied requests for information about the specific locations of dairy facilities impacted by H5N1. By withholding these details, the agency is preventing the public from understanding the true scope of the outbreak and from holding agricultural operations accountable for worker safety measures, according to the complaint.
Attorneys for the advocacy groups argue that the public interest in this information is profound. David Cremins, an attorney for CRLA, noted that the dangers H5N1 poses to dairy workers can be substantially mitigated through established sanitation protocols and other protective behaviors mandated by state regulations. However, he argued that to ensure these protections are actually in place, it is essential to know which dairies are experiencing outbreaks. The FAC’s legal director, David Loy, echoed this sentiment, stating that the public has a compelling interest in knowing where the bird flu virus is active and that full transparency is the only way to ensure confidence in the government’s public health response.
Worker Safety and Public Health at the Forefront
The core of the plaintiffs’ argument is the heightened risk faced by California’s agricultural workforce. Dairy workers operate in close proximity to livestock, placing them on the front lines of potential zoonotic disease transmission. CRLA, an organization dedicated to assisting low-income rural communities, emphasized that access to outbreak location data is not an abstract legal principle but a practical necessity for protecting a vulnerable population. The group contends that without this information, it is impossible to conduct the necessary outreach and verification to confirm that dairies are complying with state-mandated safety measures, such as providing personal protective equipment and implementing hygiene protocols.
The lawsuit underscores a broader public health concern. While H5N1 has historically been an avian disease, its spread among mammals, including dairy cattle across the United States, represents a significant evolution of the threat. Health officials monitor such outbreaks closely for any signs of genetic mutations that could make the virus more easily transmissible to or between humans. The plaintiffs argue that keeping outbreak locations secret prevents independent researchers, public health experts, and community advocates from assessing risks and helping to contain the spread. This secrecy, they claim, hampers the collective effort to manage what they characterize as an evolving public health threat.
State’s Response Amid Emergency Declaration
The CDFA’s alleged lack of transparency is particularly notable in the context of the ongoing state of emergency. In December 2024, Governor Newsom’s emergency declaration was framed as a measure to bolster the state’s response and ensure the public was kept fully informed about the H5N1 situation. The plaintiffs argue that the CDFA’s actions are in direct contradiction to the spirit and letter of that proclamation. The lawsuit alleges that despite the governor’s stated commitment to providing “accurate, up-to-date information,” the very agency responsible for managing the agricultural component of the crisis has erected a wall of secrecy.
The complaint suggests the CDFA has quarantined “hundreds of dairies” but has provided no specific details that would allow for public oversight. While government agencies can sometimes withhold information under public records laws by citing specific exemptions, such as protecting personal privacy or confidential business information, the lawsuit contends that the CDFA has failed to provide a legitimate legal justification for its blanket refusal. The plaintiffs argue that the public’s right to know about a significant public health threat outweighs any privacy interests of the agricultural operations, particularly when worker safety is at stake.
Broader Concerns Over Transparency in State’s Response
This legal action against the CDFA is not an isolated incident but part of a wider pattern of alleged secrecy surrounding California’s management of the avian flu crisis. Other state entities have also faced scrutiny and legal challenges for withholding information related to the outbreak, suggesting a systemic issue with transparency.
Scrutiny of the State’s Primary Testing Lab
In a related case from June 2025, a union representing workers at the state’s main bird flu testing facility sued the University of California, Davis, over its refusal to release records. The lawsuit was filed by the University Professional and Technical Employees-CWA Local 9119, which represents staff at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory. The union alleged that UC Davis, in violation of public records laws, was withholding information about staffing levels, operational procedures, and potential testing errors at the lab, which is central to the state’s disease surveillance efforts.
Allegations of Overworked Staff and Testing Errors
The union’s lawsuit was prompted by concerns from current and former lab workers who described a chaotic environment struggling to keep pace with testing demands. These workers claimed that chronic short staffing and burnout had led to an exodus of experienced personnel, leaving a skeletal crew to handle the surge in avian flu cases. This, they warned, increased the risk of mistakes and “bungled testing procedures,” with potentially severe consequences for the state’s agricultural sector and public health. In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for UC Davis declined to comment on the specific allegations but stated the university was grateful for the lab staff’s work during the surge. This earlier lawsuit highlights that advocacy groups and unions have been pushing for greater transparency across different parts of California’s bird flu response apparatus for many months.
