Costco shareholders reject anti-DEI measure [Video]

Costco shareholders have roundly rejected a proposal calling for a report on the risks associated with keeping its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in place, the wholesale club said Thursday.

Preliminary results show that some 98% of shareholders voted against the measure, according to the company.

Last month, Costco’s board of directors came out unanimously against the proposal, which was brought by activist shareholder the National Center for Public Policy Research, which raised concerns of risk from Costco’s DEI program after the Supreme Court’s ruling in SFFA v. Harvard that discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. 

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The proposal cites how attorneys general of 13 states have warned Fortune 100 companies that the ruling implicated corporate DEI programs, and a number of lawsuits have been filed. 

But Costco’s board defended its programs.

“Consistent with our commitment to ‘obey the law,’ we regularly …