S3469
North America
United States 4
United States - New Jersey 2
Access legislation
Gender
Yes
Minorities
LGBTQ+
Veterans
Applicable to
All publicly held domestic or foreign corporations whose principal executive office is located in this State
Key requirements
a. By December 31, 2019, a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive office is located in this State shall have a minimum of one female director on its board. A corporation may increase the number of directors, pursuant to N.J.S.14A:6-2, on its board to comply with this section.
b. By December 31, 2021, a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive office is located in this State shall comply with the following:
(1) a corporation with six or more directors shall have a minimum of three female directors;
(2) a corporation with five directors shall have a minimum of two female directors; or
(3) a corporation with four or fewer directors shall have a minimum of one female director.
c. For the purpose of determining compliance with subsection a. or b. of this section, a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive office is located in this State shall file with the Secretary of State, on an annual basis, a list of all directors and each director’s term of service, and identify how many directors are female.
Penalties
A publicly held domestic or foreign corporation that violates the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to the following penalties:
a. For each director seat required to be held by a female, pursuant to subsection a. or b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which is not held by a female during at least a portion of a calendar year, a corporation shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100,000 for a first violation and $300,000 for each subsequent violation.
For the purposes of this subsection, a female director having held a seat for at least a portion of the year shall not be a violation.
b. For failure to file board member information in a timely manner with the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a corporation shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100,000.
c. Any fine collected by the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall be used by the secretary to offset the cost of administering P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).