July 13 (Reuters) - A group of Republican U.S. state attorney generals on Thursday warned the country's largest companies that certain workforce diversity policies could be illegal in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision effectively striking down affirmative action in higher education. The attorney generals urged the companies to abandon race-based quotas or preferences in hiring, promotion and contracting and threatened legal action "sooner rather than later" if they do not. "Companies that engage in racial discrimination should and will face serious legal consequences," the attorney generals wrote. They were joined by the attorney generals of Indiana, South Carolina and Missouri, among others. But in Thursday's letter, the attorney generals said well-intentioned race discrimination is still illegal.

---

Persons: Kris Kobach, Jonathan Skrmetti, Harvard University's, Neil Gorsuch, George Floyd, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican, U.S, Companies, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Uber Technologies Corp, Harvard, University of North, Federal, Thomson Locations: Republican U.S, U.S ., Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana , South Carolina, Missouri, Albany , New York