As discussed in our previous blog, on April 1, 2022, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Terry Green, granted summary judgment in favor of individuals represented by D.C.-based nonprofit Judicial Watch, declaring Assembly Bill 979 (“AB 979”) to be unconstitutional and granting an “injunction preventing the expenditure of taxpayer funds on the implementation of the measure.”
AB 979 required publicly held corporations with a principal executive office in California to have at least one member from an “underrepresented community” on their board of directors by December 31, 2021. A director from an underrepresented community included “an individual who self-identifie[d] as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifie[d] as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Companies in violation of AB 979 faced fines of $100,000 for first violations and $300,000 for repeated violations.
In its lawsuit challenging the law, Judicial Watch claimed AB 979 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution by using taxpayer funds to enforce a quota based on race, ethnicity, sexual preference, and transgender status. California disagreed, arguing that AB 979 was necessary to reverse a culture of discrimination, and pointing out that no companies had been fined and no tax dollars had been used to enforce the measure.
Judge Green has since issued an order agreeing with Judicial Watch...
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