Workday, Inc. | Worker Driven Social Responsibility Impact Report at Workday, Inc.

Status
Withdrawn
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
WDAY
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Technology
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Resolved,  the stockholders of Workday request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing: 1.    Company policies and procedures governing direct and indirect lobbying;  Payments by Workday used for direct or indirect lobbying, including the amount of the payment and the recipient; and Description of management?s decision-making process and the Board?s oversight for making payments described in section 2 above. For purposes of this proposal, ?indirect lobbying? is lobbying engaged in by a trade association or other organization of which Workday is a member or to which it contributes. ?Direct and indirect lobbying? include efforts at the territorial, local, state and federal levels, including lobbying outside the United States  The report should be posted on Workday?s website. 
Supporting statement
Resolved,  the stockholders of Workday request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing: 1. Company policies and procedures governing direct and indirect lobbying;  2. Payments by Workday used for direct or indirect lobbying, including the amount of the payment and the recipient; and 3. Description of management?s decision-making process and the Board?s oversight for making payments described in section 2 above. For purposes of this proposal, ?indirect lobbying? is lobbying engaged in by a trade association or other organization of which Workday is a member or to which it contributes. ?Direct and indirect lobbying? include efforts at the territorial, local, state and federal levels, including lobbying outside the United States  The report should be posted on Workday?s website.  Supporting Statement  Fuller disclosure of Workday?s lobbying activities and expenditures is needed to assess whether our company?s lobbying is consistent with its expressed goals and stockholder interests. Workday spent $4,920,000 from 2020 ? 2023 on federal lobbying. This does not include state lobbying, where Workday also lobbies, drawing attention for pushing model legislation to regulate artificial intelligence in at least seven states. [1] Workday also lobbies abroad, spending between ?1,400,000 ? 1,699,997 on lobbying in Europe for 2020 - 2023.  Companies can give unlimited amounts to third party groups that spend millions on lobbying and undisclosed grassroots activity, and these groups may be spending ?at least double what?s publicly reported.? [2] Workday lists memberships in the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, which together have spent over $2 billion on federal lobbying since 1998, and supports social welfare groups (SWGs) that lobby like the Bay Area Council and Future of Privacy Forum. Workday does not disclose its payments to trade associations and SWGs, or the individual amounts used for lobbying, to stockholders.  Workday?s lack of disclosure presents reputational risk when its lobbying contradicts company public positions. For example, Workday supports a trustworthy and ethical policy framework for AI, yet reportedly has lobbied at the state level to remove private right of action [3] while facing a class action lawsuit claims that AI software is biased. [4] And Workday publicly supports addressing climate change, yet the Business Roundtable filed an amicus brief opposing the Securities and Exchange Commission climate risk disclosure rules [5] and previously opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, [6] and the Chamber also sued the SEC over climate risk disclosure rules [7] and previously opposed the Paris climate accord. Workday should expand its lobbying disclosure.     [1] https://therecord.media/human-resources-artificial-intelligence-state-legislation-workday . [2] https://theintercept.com/2019/08/06/business-group-spending-on-lobbying-in-washington-is-at-least-double-whats-publicly-reported/ [3] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/artificial-intelligence/key-california-lawmaker-unveils-al-anti-discrimination-measure . [4] https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/eeoc-says-workday-covered-by-anti-bias-laws-ai-discrimination-case-2024-04-11/ . [5]   https://www.eenews.net/articles/investors-question-business-roundtables-climate-rule-battle/ . [6] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/19/top-us-business-lobby-group-climate-action-business-roundtable . [7] https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-chamber-commerce-sues-sec-over-climate-risk-disclosure-rules-2024-03-14/ .

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.