The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) newest commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, has indicated her eagerness to work alongside her two Democratic associates to furnish further guidance and champion diversity and inclusion initiatives in US workplaces. The Democratic Commissioner shared her intentions during a press event that took place this Tuesday. Kotagal has voiced her plans…
On October 25, a ruling by a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Nasdaq board diversity rule amidst various challenges. The opposition claimed, among other things, that the rule tried to improperly and unconstitutionally mandate the composition of corporate boards. This news came in the wake of growing calls across several…
In a recent episode of On Record PR, Jennifer Simpson Carr interviewed Dr. Joel Davis Brown, the Chief Visionary Officer at Pneumos, LLC, discussing transformational leadership strategies. Pneumos, LLC is a management consulting and coaching firm working with notable clients including LinkedIn and the United Nations. Joel also carries the distinction of being a co-founder…
A Chinese American attorney is currently challenging Napoli Shkolnik PLLC’s efforts to dismiss her discrimination lawsuit against her former law firm. In her most recent filing in a New York federal court, the attorney contends that her claims are supported by comprehensive accounts of prejudiced behavior. These accounts demonstrate that the defendants, according to her…
In recent years, diversity and inclusion have increasingly become focal points in corporate strategies, not only for their inherent value but also for their critical role in effective leadership. In light of these developments, a notable episode of On Record PR dives into practical strategies business leaders can utilize to foster an inclusive work environment….
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently initiated a consultation focused on establishing a robust new regulatory landscape catering to diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the nation’s financial sector. This move underscores the FCA’s stance that D&I is a matter of regulatory interest, calling for further action and reforms. As noted in this article, the…
Lawyers from Covington & Burling have secured a victory worth 267 million dollars for DTEK Group in a dispute with Russia pertaining to seized assets in Crimea. Following a five-year long legal battle, an international arbitration panel based in The Hague ordered Russia to compensate with the hefty award amount, as confirmed by both the…
In a significant court decision, the Fifth Circuit has upheld Nasdaq’s rules on board diversity. As reported by JD Supra, the case titled Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC saw a panel of three judges from the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirm the diversity rules. The rules require each company listed on…
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have jointly published consultation papers, outlining new rules and guidelines relating to non-financial misconduct in the financial services sector, a move that adds to the discourse initiated with their joint Discussion Paper in 2021. According to an analysis by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer…
In a move marked with careful consideration and anticipation, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have progressed on their direct undertakings to enhance diversity and inclusion within the financial services sector. The two regulatory bodies have recently made public their Consultation Papers, which propose fresh rules and guidance…
In a notable shift towards expanded diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the financial sector, United Kingdom’s financial services regulators have pinned down a series of innovative proposals. These plans encompass D&I strategies, targets, disclosure obligations, and more. They also address the need to elucidate the regulatory rules applicable to non-financial misconduct and the subsequent response…
The issue of diversity in legal education has taken center stage amidst a sea change in higher education policies in the United States. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on June 29, which invalidated affirmative action in higher education, law school leaders appear to be hesitant about discussing their diversity efforts. The elephant in the…
As the world grapples with the aftermath of the Oct. 7 deadly Hamas attack that saw more than 1,400 people killed in Israel, the corporate reaction to this devastating conflict has been notably quiet. Major corporations like Amazon, Eli Lilly, and Delta had swiftly issued public statements following the attack, however, the intensity and volume…
In a recent move, California has enacted legislation that will require venture capital firms to report the demographic data of the founding teams of the companies they invest in. This development came about after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), also termed as Fair Investment Practices by Investment Advisers, on October…
In a recently developed case, the Fifth Circuit denied the petition challenging Nasdaq’s board diversity rule. According to a report by JD Supra, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a Nasdaq proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure. The discussion commenced on Friday, August 6, 2021, with the introduction of a…
In a recent ruling, the Fifth Circuit has declined to examine a lawsuit that disputed a Nasdaq Stock Market rule. This rule mandates that corporations listed on the exchange disclose data illustrating their board’s diversity. The court classified the exchange as a private entity, asserting that it is beyond the reach of constitutional review. These…
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision voiding affirmative action practices in America’s institutes of higher education, a wave of litigation challenging diversity and inclusion programs of private employers have surfaced nationwide. This comes as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) urges employers to persist in creating workplaces that prize inclusion and are…
Threats targeting the legal industry’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have continued apace, with two more high-profile law firms receiving menacing letters from an anti-affirmative action group. These incidents add to a growing list of such targeted actions this year, underscoring a rising and contentious issue within the legal sector. Spearheading this series of…
Non-financial misconduct in financial services firms has once again been brought to the forefront following the concurrent release of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consultation Paper 20/23, titled “Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change“, and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) Consultation Paper 18/23, titled “Diversity and inclusion in…
In this week’s update on American legal happenings, attention is drawn to several key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions noticeably impact across the United States. Major highlights include the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and California’s joint effort against hidden fees, the widespread support by the Attorney General…
On September 18, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) strategic plan for the fiscal years 2023 through 2026, as reported by legal services provider, JD Supra. This initiative underscores a commitment to DEIA that the SEC believes is critical to accomplishing its tripartite mission:…
In light of a recent Supreme Court decision, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has issued a formal legal opinion, asserting that workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs remain lawful. Weiser’s opinion follows the Supreme Court ruling on Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard College, which determined that race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and…
In an important development, the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative think tank, has recently lost a lawsuit that was initiated against coffee giant Starbucks. The lawsuit directly challenged Starbucks’ dedication to its diversity and inclusion efforts, with allegations that these initiatives were not just discriminatory, but impaired the company’s financial performance….
The legal world recently witnessed an ethics panel launching an investigation into a judge’s criticisms regarding diversity. The probes specifically aim to scrutinize comments made about the positioning and promotion of individuals based on race and gender within the legal profession. The investigation, an unusual occurrence, placed diversity and inclusion in the law profession back…
The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), an organization lead by noted anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the law firm Perkins Cole, following changes to the firm’s diversity fellowship program. The announcement came in the wake of Perkins Cole’s statement which opened applications to all students rather than…