On January 16, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White announced that she has directed the SEC's staff to review Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which allows an issuer to exclude a shareholder proposal that "directly conflicts" with one of the issuer's own proposals. Chair White's directive is a result of uncertainty created by the Staff's no-action letter issued to Whole Foods Market, Inc., which is described in detail in the Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest edition of December 12, 2014 .