Shareholders Say Companies Are Using New Tactics to Muzzle Them

Our Guide features ICCR member-sponsored proposals for 2026 corporate proxies along with a preliminary overview of the proxy season. Please feel free to share this resource widely with your networks. And, if you are an investor, we urge you to exercise your shareholder rights by voting your proxies.

As many of us are aware, in late 2025 the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance announced it was withdrawing from its role of providing staff guidance for companies seeking relief from a potential SEC enforcement action. For decades, companies sought that relief by filing a “No Action” letter with the staff, and asking for assurance […]

Please join us on Friday, 3/20 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm ET for a preview of ICCR members’ 2026 shareholder proposals and our 2026 Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide. Our webinar will help contextualize the more than 400 resolutions filed by ICCR members for this proxy season, with a deeper discussion by proponents of the rationale for key initiatives. Learn about ICCR member […]

In response to the settlement of the lawsuit filed by the Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) against AXON, Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), issued the following statement: “ICCR member Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) has settled its lawsuit filed against Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON), which sought to prevent AXON from excluding […]

NEW YORK, NY — Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) announced earlier this week that it has filed a lawsuit against Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit seeks to prevent AXON from excluding NCF’s shareholder proposal requesting greater transparency around the Company’s political spending. This filing by […]

The recent announcement by the SECʼs Division of Corporation Finance that its staff will not, during the 2026 proxy season, “… respond to no-action requests related to any basis for exclusion other than 14a-8(i)(1)” leaves both companies and investors in uncertain, uncharted waters. The lack of staff input deprives companies and proponents of an orderly […]

Late last week, the SECʼs Division of Corporation Finance updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations to advise that, going forward, the staff will object to using the SECʼs EDGAR filing platform to file Rule 14a-2(b) Notices of Exempt Solicitation by any shareholder holding less than $5 million in shares of the company to which the […]

The recent announcement by the SECʼs Division of Corporation Finance that its staff will not, during the 2026 proxy season, “… respond to no-action requests related to any basis for exclusion other than 14a-8(i)(1)” leaves both companies and investors in uncertain, uncharted waters. The lack of staff input deprives companies and proponents of an orderly […]