A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Nasdaq cannot impose rules that require public companies to have women or minority directors on their boards or explain why they don't.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with two conservative advocacy groups in a 9-8 vote, ruling that the Securities and Exchange Commission-approved rules violate federal securities laws. I stood.
These rules were challenged by the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research and the Fair Officer Hiring Alliance, a group founded by affirmative action opponent Edward Blum.
In October 2023, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit, made up entirely of appointees of Democratic presidents, upheld the SEC's 2021 decision to approve Nasdaq's rules, stating that the regulator's authority He claimed that he acted within the scope of.
But the conservative-majority court chose to revisit the issue. The majority of nine justices were all appointed by Republican presidents, including the decision's author, Federal Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term.
