An opponent of affirmative action is challenging the approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a rule to bring more women and minorities on the boards of companies trading on Nasdaq Inc.
The Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment, which took legal action against California over its requirement for corporate board diversity, filed a petition for a review of the SEC decision to a federal appeals court last week. Under the rule approved earlier this month, boards of Nasdaq-listed companies must have at least one internally identified female and at minimum one underrepresented minority or LGBTQ person - or they should explain why they don't.
The races, sex and sexual identity board quotas told by Nasdaq are illegal and unfair," said Edward Blum. President of the alliance, said in a press release Wednesday. 'This rule violates our nation's civil rights laws and constitution and should be stopped from being passed by the courts without delay.
The court action is latest in a series of lawsuits Blum brought challenging diversity measures. As president of the group opposing affirmative action called Students for Fair Admissions, Blum has unsuccessfully asked courts to block race-conscious admission practice at the University of Texas and Harvard University from considering race in admissions.
A representative for the SEC and a spokesperson for Nasdaq declined to comment.
In its decision, the SEC said the rule wouldn't impose some burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate. At the time, the exchange said it was 'pleased that the SEC has approved Nasdaq's proposal to enhance board diversity disclosures and support the creation of more diverse boards through a market-led solution.
The case is Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 21 - 60626, U.S. Supreme Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit - Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 32 - 60626, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit