{"id":1436707,"date":"2022-04-14T07:44:55","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T11:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1436707"},"modified":"2022-04-14T07:45:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T11:45:51","slug":"california-maintains-a-public-shame-list-of-companies-not-reporting-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-maintains-a-public-shame-list-of-companies-not-reporting-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"California Maintains a Public \u201cShame List\u201d of Companies Not Reporting Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-maintains-a-public-shame-list-of-companies-not-reporting-diversity%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1436707&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Some of the nation\u2019s most famous corporations, including Lions Gate Entertainment and Live Nation, have not reported compliance with a<br \/>\n<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\">California<\/a><br \/>\n law that required boards of directors to meet a diversity quota.<\/p>\n<p>The law has just been declared unconstitutional by a Los Angeles judge, and yet a \u201cshame list\u201d remains online for the public to scrutinize which corporations have the most ethnic minorities on their boards.<\/p>\n<p>\n<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/ca-court-opinion-explains-historic-ruling\/\">Judicial Watch<\/a><br \/>\n won a lawsuit last week against the secretary of state regarding the legality of<br \/>\n<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB979\">a 2020 law<\/a><br \/>\n requiring publicly held companies to select board members from a preapproved state list of underrepresented communities. The required number of directors is based on a sliding scale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s telling when you have the biggest corporations in America not wanting to go along with this government Big Brother reporting scheme,\u201d Judicial Watch Senior Counsel Robert Sticht told the <i>Washington Examiner<\/i>. \u201cI don\u2019t blame them for not wanting to be on this public shame list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The secretary of state published a report March 1 indicating that while 716 corporations were listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as headquartered in California, only 301 reported compliance with the \u201cUnderrepresented Communities on Boards\u201d in a 2021 state disclosure statement, the state website read.<\/p>\n<p>Other companies that did not file statements include Fisker, Broadcom, Levi Strauss, and Tilly\u2019s, along with a host of Silicon Valley tech and pharmaceutical companies. The failure to file \u201ctimely\u201d board member information is subject to a minimum $100,000 fine, the law indicates. <\/p>\n<p>For the companies that did comply, many listed numbers exceeding the quota, such as Tesla, The Gap, Walt Disney, Visa, and Williams-Sonoma.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<figure class=\"Figure\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-image-size=\"articleImage\" \/><source data-image-size=\"articleImage\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"Figure-content\">\n<p>California Secretary of State Diversity Report<\/p>\n<p>User<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The law states that 90% of chief executives were white in 2019 and that \u201cdirectors that hold numerous board seats exert considerable influence over United States corporations and broader society. As directors gain seats on more boards, they gain influence over the creation of policy in more companies and rise in corporate status amongst the corporate elite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But forcing companies to elect directors violates the Constitution\u2019s equal protection guarantees, Superior Court Judge Terry Green ruled on April 1. Three taxpayers sued on the theory that public funds were utilized to promote unlawful legislation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The CA Superior Court has released its full opinion in the case decided last week declaring that the State\u2019s racial, ethnic, and LGBT quota for diversity on corporate boards of CA-based corporations violates the California Constitution. READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VdC2czzZ33\">https:\/\/t.co\/VdC2czzZ33<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Judicial Watch \u2696\ufe0f (@JudicialWatch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JudicialWatch\/status\/1513909812026916865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Green blasted state attorneys over creating selective groups that would benefit from the law at the expense of others. The list names people who are black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native or self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. It omits Jewish, Indian, and Muslim individuals, among others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was the first thing the judge brought up in oral argument,\u201d Sticht said. \u201cInitially Asians, for example, weren\u2019t on the list. When the state was asked how they selected the groups, they said it was decided based on who advocated for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sticht said if someone can self-identify as gay, it doesn\u2019t guard against another person like Sen. Elizabeth Warren from saying they are Native American to comply with state regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s entirely arbitrary, a pure quota and unconstitutional,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Green wrote in his opinion: \u201cIn effect, the included groups were included simply because they asked to be. Excluded groups were excluded because they didn&#8217;t show up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cThe Legislature and the Secretary blame a \u2018secretive, insular\u2019 selection process for the problem with current board compositions. Yet there has been no attempt to improve that process, nor has any good explanation been offered for that lack of effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The state has 60 days to appeal. The judge has not said whether the webpage will stay public, given that the companies were required to report based on a law that has been declared invalid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone knows the annual report is a name and shame list, an obvious attempt to enforce compliance with a law the Legislature knew was unconstitutional,\u201d Sticht said.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked for comment on the judge\u2019s ruling and issued the following statement: \u201cCalifornia\u2019s diversity is our greatest strength, helping to drive our innovation, creativity, and leadership on the global stage \u2014 as well as better financial outcomes for businesses with a range of perspectives represented in the board room. Our state is committed to ensuring that all of our communities can access pathways to opportunity and recognizes the work that still must be done to counter discrimination and create a more inclusive and equitable future.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some of the nation\u2019s most famous corporations, including Lions Gate Entertainment and Live Nation, have not reported compliance with a California law that required boards of directors to meet a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1436707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}