In April, a Los Angeles Superior Court held that Assembly Bill (AB) 979 which required publicly-held corporations headquartered in California to diversify by adding “underrepresented communities” to their board of directors, was unconstitutional. On May 13, 2022, a second Los Angeles Superior Court found Senate Bill (SB) 826, which required gender diversity on
SB 826
California Superior Court Finds AB 979 is Unconstitutional
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 979, which required publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities” by December 31, 2021. AB 979 followed similar legislation in Senate Bill (SB) 826, which required gender diversity on boards of directors.
SB…
Challenges to California’s Board Diversity Statutes
Building on board gender diversity requirements, California passed Assembly Bill (AB) 979 in 2020. This statute requires publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities,” specifically those individuals who self-identify as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native,…
9th Circuit Revives Lawsuit Challenging One of the Board of Directors Diversity Statutes
All the way back in 2018, California passed Senate Bill 826 requiring publicly-held corporations with principal executive offices in California to have a certain number of females on their board of directors. Similarly, in 2020, Assembly Bill 979 was passed which required publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their board of directors with…
AB 979 Requires California-Based Publicly Held Corporations to Diversify Their Boards of Directors
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 979, which requires publicly held corporations headquartered in California to diversify their boards of directors with directors from “underrepresented communities” by December 31, 2021. This bill is similar to Senate Bill 826, signed into law in 2018, which required publicly held corporations headquartered in…