Missouri AG Andrew Bailey has sued International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”), alleging that the company’s use of racial quotas in hiring and other employment actions violates the Missouri Human Rights Act’s...more
January 1 marked the effective date for a number of new state laws that attempt to restrict certain employers’ use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. State legislatures are restricted under the First...more
The Supreme Court issued a major decision at the end of June when it outlawed affirmative action for colleges in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (“SFFA”). The Court based its decision...more
Monday, July 10, 2023: Part II: Four Implications Impacting Federal Government Contractors & Employers Following the SCOTUS Decision in the Harvard & UNC Cases + “Life Preserver” Practical Next Step Suggestions - This is...more
Last week, 13 Republican state attorneys general published a letter to the largest companies in the country, creating confusion, uncertainty and risk for businesses that have sought to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion...more
Last year, Superior Courts in Los Angeles County invalidated two California statutes requiring specific diversity mandates for California public company boards (Senate Bill 826 “SB 826” and Assembly Bill 979 “AB 979”). The...more
A little over a year ago, I wrote that California Superior Court Judge Terry Green had found that AB 979 facially violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution, Cal. Const. Art. I, § 7. Crest v....more
In July, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber filed a petition for a writ of supersedeas in the California Court of Appeal with respect to the trial court's judgment in Crest v. Padilla. In that case, the trial court...more
In a ruling on April 1, 2022, a Superior Court in the County of Los Angeles invalidated Assembly Bill 979 (“AB 979”), a California bill requiring increased diversity on public company boards, which was signed into law by...more
On May 13, 2022, Judge Maureen Duffy Lewis of the Superior Court of the State of California for Los Angeles County entered judgement in favor of three taxpayers bringing state constitutional challenges to S.B. 826, a bill for...more
On May 13, 2022, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge struck down California's legislation requiring representation of women on the boards of publicly held companies with principal executive offices in California. The law,...more
As I noted yesterday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has found California's female director quota law, SB 826, to violate the Equal Protection clause of the California Constitution (A person may not be ....more
Following a lengthy trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has found that California's female director quota law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution...more
Yesterday's discussion of an amicus brief filed by 17 law professors in a case challenging SB 826, California's female director quota mandate, reminded me of a related question that I raised a few years ago...more
Earlier this year, the trial of one of the challenges to SB 826, California's female director quota law, concluded but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has yet to release her decision. Crest v. Weber,...more
On April 1, 2022, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles struck down California's landmark legislation requiring representation of "underrepresented communities" on the boards of publicly held companies based in California....more
When I reported last Friday that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their challenge to California's board quota law, AB 979, all I had was a brief minute order from the...more
This afternoon, Judge Terry Green granted the plaintiff's summary judgment motion in a case challenging the constitutionality of AB 979. Crest v. Padilla, LA Super. Ct. Case No. 20STCV37513...more
On Monday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green heard arguments on opposing motions for summary judgment in a case challenging the constitutionality of AB 979. Crest v. Padilla, L.A. Super. Ct. Case No....more
On Monday, I noted that because California's female director quota law uses the word "shall", it is mandatory. Confused? Here's how I break down the law...more
As the trial of of the constitutionality of SB 826, California's female director quota, law continues, the question of the plaintiffs' standing remains in contention. As I reported in June of last year, Judge Maureen...more
SB 826 is scheduled to go on trial today before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis. Crest v. Weber, Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561. SB 826 requires all publicly held corporations headquartered in...more
It should be a surprise to no one that California's laws imposing strict gender and diversity requirements on publicly held corporations continue to attract legal challenges. Tomorrow, a trial is scheduled to begin in...more
A study by an international team of scholars has concluded that California's imposition of a gender quota on publicly held corporations with their principal executive offices in the state resulted in a "robust and...more
California's female and underrepresented community board quota statutes apply to publicly held corporations having their principal executive offices in California "according to the corporation's SEC 10-K form". Cal. Corp....more