California Court Rules Race-Based Criteria for Board of Directors Unconstitutional

On April 1, 2022, an LA County Superior Court issued a summary judgment order finding that provisions of the California Corporations Code requiring publicly listed corporations headquartered in California to have board members from “underrepresented communities,” violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution. The court concluded that mandating diversity in this manner was not consistent with the constitutional requirement that race-based criteria for board selection be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.