Bid to block California women on boards law goes before judge - Reuters
(Reuters) - A shareholder on Tuesday will urge a California judge to block a law requiring publicly held companies headquartered in the state to have a minimum number of women on their boards.
OSI Systems Inc shareholder Creighton Meland alleges that the state law passed in 2018 is unconstitutional because it pressures shareholders to vote for women directors.
He has asked U.S. District Judge John Mendez of Sacramento to block the California Secretary of State from enforcing the statute while the case is pending.
The lawsuit is one of several challenging the law, which required companies to have at least one woman on their board by the end of 2019. By the end of this year, boards with five members must include at least two women and larger boards must have three.
While other states have passed similar laws, California's goes the farthest, allowing the secretary of state to levy fines as high as $300,000 per violation. The regulator has not yet fined any companies and is not required to do so, according to court filings.
Mendez dismissed Meland's lawsuit last year, ruling that Meland did not have a claim because the law did not impair his right to vote as he chooses.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case in June, saying Meland had a plausible claim that the law required him to engage in sex-based discrimination.
As of March, many companies did not yet have the number of female directors required, according to a study by 50/50 Women on Boards, a group that advocates for gender balance in the boardroom.
The case is Meland v. Weber, No. 20-15762, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
For Meland: Anastasia Boden of the Pacific Legal Foundation
For California Secretary of State Shirley Weber: Lisa Cisneros of the Office Of the California Attorney General
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source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/bid-block-california-women-boards-law-goes-before-judge-2021-10-19/
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