In the year since the Supreme Court’s highly anticipated decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (SFFA), effectively eliminating race-conscious...more
On August 14, 2023, the Biden Administration released its first guidance on how institutions of higher education may lawfully pursue efforts to recruit and admit diverse student bodies in light of the Supreme Court’s recent...more
8/21/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
New Guidance ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Universities
In preparation for the 2023 proxy season, proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced updates to their voting guidelines for investors, effective on January 1, 2023, and February 1,...more
2/7/2023
/ Audits ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies
Companies are responding in a myriad of ways to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), including by expanding healthcare travel benefits to reduce barriers to accessing care in...more
10/4/2022
/ Abortion ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Institutional Investors ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proxy Season ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Travel Expenses
On Monday, August 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral argument on a challenge to the Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule (the “Rule”). The Rule requires Nasdaq-listed companies to publicly disclose Board...more
The 2022 proxy season has highlighted shareholders’ ever-growing focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In 2021, a new trend emerged as 13 shareholder proposals were filed calling on companies to conduct “civil...more
6/10/2022
/ Audits ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Shareholder Proposals
On Friday, May 13, a California Superior Court judge struck down Senate Bill (“SB”) 826—California’s landmark gender diversity law regarding the representation of women directors on the boards of publicly held corporations...more
On Tuesday, January 26, President Biden signed a memorandum on discriminatory housing practices and policies. The memorandum is one of a series of recent executive actions focused on racial equity, representing the...more
2/1/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Disparate Impact ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Housing Discrimination ,
HUD ,
Native American Issues ,
Obama Administration ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Prison ,
Rental Property ,
Trump Administration
Hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Biden signed 17 executive actions covering a wide range of issues, including several focused on discrimination and racial justice, immigration, and environmental...more
2/1/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Census ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Identity ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Muslims ,
National Environmental Policies ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall
As the #MeToo movement gains momentum, companies in nearly every major industry are dealing with allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment or even sexual assault—including allegations of widespread misconduct...more
In 2015, the Justice Department (DOJ) continued to give high priority to False Claims Act (FCA) investigations, bringing in nearly $3.6 billion in settlements and judgments. More than 630 qui tam suits were filed. DOJ's...more