The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the University of Washington (UW) in a civil rights action brought by former employees after they were fired for failure to comply with UW’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued by the Governor of Washington during the pandemic.

Appellants brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that UW violated their First and Fourteenth Amendments rights. The district court dismissed these claims, concluding that UW was an arm of the state under the three-factor test articulated in Kohn v. State Bar of California, 87 F.4th 1021 (9th Cir. 2023) (en banc), and thus was not a “person” under § 1983.

While the appeal was pending, the Supreme Court decided Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp., 607 U.S. 509 (2026), which addressed the “arm of the state” analysis. The panel held that the three-factor test articulated in Kohn survives Galette, but that Galette clarifies how much weight the court should give each factor.

Following Galette, to determine whether an entity is an arm of the state, the court considers the following three factors: (1) whether the State intended to create a legally independent entity, which is shown by the entity’s form and treatment under state law; (2) whether the State is formally liable for the entity’s debts or liabilities, including judgments; and (3) the degree of control the State exercises over the entity. The first factor bears the most weight, and the third bears the least.

Applying the refined test, the panel held that UW is an arm of Washington State and thus is not a “person” under § 1983. Accordingly, it cannot be sued for civil rights violations.

The panel addressed Appellants’ other claims in a concurrently filed memorandum disposition.

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/08/13/24-7460.pdf