Federal Court Says No to NASDAQ Diversity Rules

NASDAQ was doing everything it could to make sure companies listed on its exchange were buying into DEI.

A federal appeals court, however, just tossed the new rule.

The ruling came down on Wednesday, so, for the time being, NASDAQ members can breathe a sigh of relief.

Bowing to the Woke Agenda

This need for companies or agencies to dictate who works at a different company has gotten out of control.

NASDAQ was trying to do this to companies listed on its exchange.

The exchange was trying to force companies listed to have women and minority members on their boards, or submit reasoning why that was not the case.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, ruled 9-8 that the exchange cannot require such a thing.

When the rule was first put in place, it was challenged by National Center for Public Policy Research and the Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment, which is a conservative think tank.

It is as though they want to make companies appear sexist or racist if they just don’t happen to have women or minorities on the boards, so they put rules like this in place to embarrass the companies to force their hiring practices.

U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham penned the majority opinion, stating, "SEC has intruded into territory far outside its ordinary domain.”

When the matter first went before a three-judge panel on the 5^th Circuit, all Democrat appointees, they ruled to enforce the rule.

When the full court took on the issue, as you saw, the outcome was significantly different.

The SEC thought it could push the rule forward because it was requiring listed companies to disclose specific information, believing that requirement regarding the race and gender of board members fell under the Securities Exchange Act.

Mark Chenoweth, whose legal group, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, represented the National Center for Public Policy Research, stated this ruling "should chasten SEC to stick to its knitting and stop trying to abuse its market-regulating power."

That is an ideal world, but in reality, when Dems are in charge, they will choose diversity over qualified any day of the week.