As boards prepare for the post-2020 round of self-evaluations, they will need to make the usual decisions regarding timing, scope and construct (e.g., written questionnaires and/or interviews), among others. But this year, boards also should consider adding questions/discussion topics specifically addressing the board’s ability to govern effectively in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as emerging areas of investor focus, such as diversity and inclusion, disruption/innovation, crisis preparedness, geopolitics, cybersecurity and privacy, virtual board meetings and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

A recent study by the EY Center for Board Matters found that 53% of 2020 Fortune 100 proxy filers disclosed the general topics covered in their board evaluation program, up from 49% in 2019 and 40% in 2018. The study also found that 32% of 2020 Fortune 100 filers disclosed, usually at a high level, changes that had been made in response to the results of those evaluations, which was up from 27% in 2019 and 22% in 2018.

Sample supplemental questions/discussion topics for 2020 board evaluations, as well as, where applicable, committee and individual director evaluations, may include:

• All board members have sufficient technology capabilities, IT infrastructure and cybersecurity protections to effectively access board materials, prepare for and participate in board meetings in the virtual environment.
• Board members pay sufficient attention to environmental and social consequences and potential risks resulting from the company’s activities.
• Board members are able to clearly and effectively communicate with each other and with management in the virtual environment,
  

New York recently adopted new rules to, among other things, eliminate its cumbersome and confusing Form 99 blue sky notification filing requirement for many Regulation D offerings and instead require electronic notice filings on Form D for those offerings.  New York’s Martin Act previously required companies to manually file an originally-signed Form 99 before offering or selling private placement securities to New York investors. 

Effective December 2, 2020, New York’s new Regulation D filing procedures are now generally consistent with the 1996 National Securities Market Improvement Act and with procedures in other states, which allow companies selling “covered securities” under Rule 506 of Regulation D to provide notice to the state through the North American Association of Securities Administrators (“NASAA”) Electronic Filing Depository (“EFD”).  The Form D now is required to be filed with New York on the same schedule as federal and other state filings—within 15 days of the first sale of any securities to an investor in New York.

In a press release announcing the change, New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, “By moving to standardized electronic filings and payments, our systems will be more resilient to disruption in the future and will be better equipped to protect investors from frauds, especially critical as we have seen an exponential rise in these types of scams as a result of COVID-19.”  The press release also provides that the new rules are the “latest step in Attorney General James’ ongoing efforts to streamline and enhance the oversight

Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis recently released their respective policy updates for the 2021 proxy season.  Key updates are summarized below.

The SEC recently voted to approve proposed amendments to Rule 701 and Form S-8 governing the offer or sale of securities to employees through compensation programs.  The proposed amendments provide for a temporary, five-year expansion of Rule 701 and Form S-8 to permit public and private companies to issue securities as compensation to certain “platform,” or “gig” workers, subject to various conditions.

Rule 701 provides an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for the sale of securities by privately held companies to compensate employees, consultants, advisors and certain others under written compensatory benefit plans or written agreements.  Form S-8 is used by SEC reporting companies to register the sale of public company securities to employees, consultants and advisors.  Neither Rule 701 nor Form S-8 currently covers issuances to platform workers.

The proposed amendments to Rule 701 would allow a non-reporting company to offer and sell securities to “platform workers,” who are defined in the amended rules as workers who, pursuant to a written contract or agreement, provide services to an issuer or a third party through the issuer’s “internet-based marketplace platform or through another widespread, technology-based marketplace platform or system.”  The proposed amendments to Form S-8 would permit a reporting issuer to include that same category of workers in compensatory offerings registered on Form S-8.  The proposed amendments also include conditions that are designed to limit the possibility that the amended rules could result in offers and sales of securities for capital-raising, rather than

Nasdaq yesterday announced a proposed new listing rule that would require all Nasdaq-listed companies to publicly disclose consistent, transparent board diversity statistics in a specified form of matrix.  In addition, the proposed rule would require Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or explain why they do not have, at least two diverse directors:  one woman and one person who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ.

Nasdaq believes its proposal would benefit investors and the public interest, citing in its SEC filing numerous empirical studies as support for its finding that diverse boards “are positively associated with improved corporate governance and financial performance.”  It also noted calls for diversity from institutional investors, corporate stakeholders and legislators.

If the rule is approved by the SEC, companies would be required to disclose board-level diversity statistics within one year of the SEC’s approval of the listing rule.  In addition:

• All operating companies will be expected to have one diverse director within two years of the SEC’s approval of the listing rule (non-operating companies, such as asset-backed issuers, cooperatives, limited partnerships and investment management companies, as well as certain specified issuers of non-equity securities, would be exempt from the proposed rule).
• Companies listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Global Market will be expected to have a second diverse director within four years of the SEC’s approval.
• Companies listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market will be expected to have a second diverse director within five years of the SEC’s
  

The SEC recently approved amendments to Rule 302(b) of Regulation S-T, which governs the signing of “authentication documents” relating to typewritten signatures included in documents that are filed with the SEC electronically via EDGAR.  Current Rule 302(b) requires that, prior to or at the time of such a filing, each signatory manually sign a signature page (or other document) “authenticating, acknowledging or otherwise adopting his or her signature that appears in typed form within the electronic filing.”  Rule 302(b), as amended, will for the first time allow a signatory to use an electronic signature (as an alternative to a manual signature) on any such authentication document, provided certain requirements are met, as described below.

Effective Date.  The amendments will become effective upon publication in the Federal Register.  Following approval of the amendments, however, the SEC staff issued a statement indicating that, in light of COVID-19 concerns, early reliance on and compliance with amended Rule 302(b) is permitted.

Attestation Document (New).  Before using an electronic signature in an authentication document for the first time, a signatory will be required to manually sign a document attesting that he or she agrees that the use of an electronic signature in any authentication document will be the legal equivalent of such individual’s manual signature.

Electronic Signature Procedures.  In connection with the amendments, the SEC updated the EDGAR Filer Manual to set out the procedures that are required to be followed before an electronic signature may be used in an authentication document.  The electronic signing

As covered in our blog post dated August 26, 2020, the SEC recently adopted amendments to Regulation S-K Items 101 (business description), 103 (legal proceedings), and 105 (risk factors) aimed at modernizing disclosure requirements.  The amended rules became effective on November 9, 2020.

The SEC Staff (the “Staff”) recently published three transitional FAQs addressing questions that have arisen regarding the amendments:

FAQ (1) – Applicability of Amended Items 101, 103 and 105 to Form S-3 Prospectus Supplements Filed on or after November 9, 2020.

• The Staff confirmed that because Form S-3 requires only incorporation by reference – and not express disclosure – under Items 101 and 103, a registrant is not required to comply with amended Items 101 and 103 when, on or after November 9, 2020, it files a prospectus supplement to a Form S-3 registration statement that became effective prior to November 9, 2020. The registrant also is not required to amend the Form 10-K that is incorporated by reference into the Form S-3 to comply with amended Items 101 and 103.
• The Staff noted that because Form S-3 requires that Item 105 disclosure be expressly included (i.e., the disclosure cannot be incorporated by reference), Securities Act Rule 401(a) would ordinarily require that the prospectus supplement comply with amended Item 105. The Staff indicated that it will not object, however, if the prospectus supplement is filed without amending the Form S-3 to comply with amended Item 105.  The registrant will, however, be required to comply with amended
  

Glass Lewis (“GL”) recently issued its 2020 Proxy Season Review (U.S.) (the “Report”) covering the U.S. 2020 Proxy Season (i.e., January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020).  GL reported on certain 2020 shareholder voting trends and results, as well as certain of GL’s voting recommendations.  The statistics and information included below (1) cover only a portion of the Report and (2) refer to the U.S. 2020 Proxy Season and to the U.S. companies covered by GL, unless otherwise indicated.

Governance and Disclosure

• Boards are becoming increasingly younger; for example, for companies in the Russell 3000 Index (the “Russell 3000”), (1) the average age for new director nominees decreased to 54.8 years from 55.9 and 57.7 years in 2019 and 2018, respectively, and (2) the average age of all directors decreased to 61.2 years from 61.8 and 63.5 years in 2019 and 2018, respectively;
• For Russell 3000 companies, the average tenure of men on boards decreased slightly to 12.4 years from 12.9 years in 2019, while the average tenure of women on such boards increased more significantly to 7.2 years from 6.0 years in 2019;
• Approximately 13.2% of boards did not include women, which was reduced from 18.8% in 2019 and 26.2% in 2018;
• The number of women in board leadership positions at Russell 3000 companies has increased each year during the past three years; however, women are more likely to serve as committee chairs rather than as board chairs, vice chairs or lead directors; men hold approximately 94.5% of chair
  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently adopted final amendments to the auditor independence requirements set forth in Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.  The SEC stated that the final amendments were based on recurring fact patterns that the SEC staff has observed over the years in which certain relationships and services triggered technical independence rule violations without necessarily impairing an auditor’s objectivity and impartiality.  These relationships either triggered non-substantive rule breaches or required potentially time-consuming audit committee review of non-substantive matters, thereby diverting time, attention, and other resources of audit clients, auditors, and audit committees from other investor protection efforts.

In the adopting release, the SEC stated that the amendments “…maintain the bedrock principle that auditors must be independent in fact and in appearance while…more effectively focusing the independence analysis on those relationships or services that are more likely to threaten an auditor’s objectivity and impartiality.”  The SEC anticipates that Rule 2-01, as amended, will make the auditor independence rules easier to apply and appropriately limit the situations in which auditors are not deemed to be independent.

The amendments include, among others:

• In connection with determining whether auditor independence exists in the context of initial public offerings, an amendment shortening the applicable look-back period to cover the immediately preceding fiscal year (rather than the period covered by the registration statement, which can be up to three years);
• In connection with identifying relationships that may preclude a finding of auditor independence, an amendment providing that a sister entity
  

As COVID-19 rages on, companies are again flocking to virtual annual meetings for the 2021 proxy season, but with one important difference:  the luxury of time.  Many companies are already exploring retention of virtual annual meeting providers and alternatives for video and real-time Q&A, as well as drafting fulsome disclosure about meeting logistics in their proxy materials to address concerns raised by investors, the SEC and others with respect to some pitfalls during the 2020 proxy season.

Service Providers and Technology.  For 2021, an issuer will have additional time to select an appropriate provider of a virtual meeting platform.  The most widely used vendor for hosting virtual meetings is Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., which reported that it hosted 1,494 virtual shareholder meetings during the first six months of 2020.  Other service providers, such as stock transfer agents, also provide such services.  A few companies have even arranged to facilitate the virtual component of an annual meeting via Zoom.

In 2020, some companies were caught off-guard by technology glitches.  For 2021, issuers should be in a position to anticipate technology issues and to put contingency plans in place to address them.  Issuers can follow best practices for virtual meetings by, for example, putting in place technical support lines for the duration of their meetings.

Format and Rules of Conduct (including Q&A).  Companies need to decide whether a meeting will be virtual-only, physical-only or a hybrid.  For any virtual component, they need to decide whether the access will be