Jeff Green, Bloomberg News
For President Donald Trump’s operatives who are seeking corporate goals to investigate “illegal DEIs,” conservative activists have already made a tactic and made a list.
From Amazon.com Inc. to Yum! Brands Inc., 45 companies with a total market value of $10 trillion, have been attacked in DEI efforts over the past three years by a group led by Stephen Miller, now the White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff, and an anti-affirmative lawsuit. I did. activist Edward Blum; Corporate lawyers and advisors are now staring at the list for clues that could potentially end up being investigated by the government.
Corporate diversity, equity and comprehensive efforts were carried out less than five years ago when businesses rushed to deal with historical inequality after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer. But now the new administration is moving to dismantle the DEI. . The Justice Department, which has prepared the report by March 1, has identified procedures to block the use of “discriminatory” DEI programs in the private sector, but threatens criminal investigations.
The department did not respond to requests for comment on the plan. One of Trump’s first orders regarding Day asked the agency manager to identify up to nine companies or other entities that may be practicing “illegal DEIs.” The order said DEI’s policies aimed at boosting underrated groups could violate federal civil rights laws.
“Target Rich”
The company that has highlighted recent lawsuits and complaints is Michael Elkins, who represents the company on employment law issues as the founder and partner of MLE Law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. . “They have a blueprint.”
Miller and Blum groups described them as “illegal” practices of 45 companies, including gender-based and race-based employment, race-based scholarships and funding from start-ups owned by undervalued groups. I emphasized.
“It’s an environment where there are plenty of goals,” Blum said. The lawsuit surpassed the right-wing group’s attack on Corporate America’s DEI, persuading the US Supreme Court to end the 2023 university entrance affirmative lawsuit. Companies are at risk by maintaining their DEI programs, he said.
Blum did not argue whether he had a direct conversation with the administrative authorities, but businesses should have “in mind” this government, “it is feasible in court, unpopular and polarised.” “Do” practice should be final. He pursues companies such as American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co., and won a settlement with McDonald’s last month.
Litigation, complaints
Anti-DEI activist Robbie Starbuck said he plans to contact the administrator and “report evidence of illegal discrimination against race and gender that we have found.” Without providing details about government communication, Starbuck has claimed credit for DEI rollbacks in more than 15 companies, including Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retailer.
Miller’s group, America First Legal, is the most aggressive in pursuing the DEI program of a company that says it discriminates against white men. The AFL filed more than half a dozen lawsuits and more than 30 requests for federal or state investigations of businesses.
Reed Rubinstein, senior vice president of First Legal, said race, gender and national origins were not “motivating factors for employment practices.” The Trump administration on February 5th made clear instructions to its agency managers on how to use similar languages to identify banned DEIs.
Most AFL complaints about DEI practices in companies such as Walt Disney Co., Nike Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. have been brought to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, a federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws. It was sent. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Day retreat
Already, consulting firms Accenture PLC, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., Deloitte, have abandoned its diversity goals, citing Trump’s executive order banning federal contractors’ diversity efforts. Both government contractors, Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsico Inc., said they are preparing to comply with the order.
According to Aaron Goldstein, an employment law partner at Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle office, businesses should be aware that even if they were called in the past, they will make dramatic changes to Dei’s policies. He said that he has clients who have been attacked by conservative groups but will not comment on whether they are on the AFL list.
He said the Trump administration is likely to chase after companies that have attracted attention and made strong statements in support of Day in the past. The best thing a company can do is to look into and prepare both external and internal communications.
“After accepting it over the past three years, if you go on a ride from Dei in a very public way, you might get hit with traffic in both ways,” Goldstein says. “The worst thing that can happen to a company is that you’re still on that list, but you’ve lost all the integrity and credibility with the people on the other side of these issues.”
Companies that filed unpaid lawsuits
Ally Financial Inc. Amazon.com Inc. American Airlines Group Inc. Bally’s Corp. Expedia Group Inc. International Business Machines Corp. Meta Platforms Inc. Paramount Global (Multiple)Progressive Corp Southwest Airlines Co. Target Corp.
Source: America First Legal, American Alliance for Aqual Rights
Companies with federal or state complaints
Alaska Air Group Inc. Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV Blackrock Inc. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. Hasbro Hy-Vee Inc. Kellanova Kontoor Brands Inc. Lyft Inc. Macy’s Major League Mars Inc. . Mattel Inc. McDonald’s Corp . Microsoft Corp. (Activision) Morgan Stanley NASCAR National Football League Nike Inc. Nordstrom Inc. PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP Salesforce Inc. Sanofi SA Shake Shack Inc. Smithfield Foods Foods Corp. Twilio Inc. Tyson Foods Inc. Unilever PLC Walt Disney Co Williams-Sonoma Inc. Yum! Brands Inc.
Source: America First Legal
(With support from Gerson Freitas Jr., Jaewon Kang, Brody Ford, Sabah Meddings, Mary Schlangenstein, Deena Shanker, Matt Day, Silla Brush, Andrew Martin, Natalie Lung, Jeannette Neumann, Thomas Buckley, and Alexandre Rajbhandari)
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Original issue: February 20, 2025, 2:05pm EST
