Overview
- EEOC chair Andrea Lucas publicly urged white men who believe they were hurt by diversity policies to file discrimination charges with the agency.
- Lucas told Reuters she aims to shift enforcement to a more conservative view of civil rights and to open inquiries into corporate DEI practices.
- The EEOC can issue subpoenas, depose executives and sue employers, with Lucas pledging to use the full force of the federal government where it finds violations.
- Employment law scholars, including former EEOC chair Jenny Yang and professor Stacy Hawkins, say plaintiffs generally must show specific race- or sex-based decisions that caused individual harm.
- Companies have been narrowing or rebranding DEI programs to limit legal exposure, conservatives are pursuing legislation to restrict DEI, and civil-rights advocates warn the EEOC’s outreach could divert resources from historically disadvantaged workers.