California Board Diversity Law Violates Federal Constitution (1)

A California law mandating racial, ethnic, and sexual orientation diversity in corporate boards is unconstitutional, a federal district court said.

The Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment alleged that Assembly Bill 979—which requires boards of public companies headquartered in California to include at least one to three members of underrepresented groups or face a fine—violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The group sued in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California, which granted its motion for summary judgment Tuesday.

Senior Judge John A. Mendez found that the California law constituted ...