diff --git a/.github/workflows/cla.yml b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
index 539bbacee9a7..f370cb2b541c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cla.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cla.yml
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
-name: Check Scala CLA
+name: Scala CLA
 on:
   pull_request:
-    types: opened
     branches-ignore:
       - 'language-reference-stable'
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - 'language-reference-stable'
+  merge_group:
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
 
 jobs:
   check:
@@ -11,5 +17,6 @@ jobs:
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - run: ./project/scripts/check-cla.sh
+      if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
       env:
         AUTHOR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.user.login }}