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Justice Department Opens Probe Into CalEPA and CARB Over Possible Title VII Violations

The probe examines whether equity policies within CalEPA, including CARB, direct employment decisions based on protected traits in violation of Title VII.

Harmeet Dhillon, seen here in 2023 in Oakland, is a former vice-chair of the California Republican Party. Now an assistant attorney general, she is targeting the California EPA over its racial equity initiatives.
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Overview

  • The Civil Rights Division launched a pattern‑or‑practice investigation into the California Environmental Protection Agency and its Air Resources Board over potential discrimination in hiring, promotion, and retention.
  • Investigators cited CalEPA’s “Practices to Advance Racial Equity in Workforce Planning,” which urges applying a racial equity lens across workforce processes and assembling interview panels that reflect demographic diversity.
  • DOJ says CARB appears to apply these policies through its Racial Equity Framework, which it described as advancing race‑based decision‑making within the agency.
  • Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon warned that agencies using protected characteristics in employment decisions risk serious legal consequences.
  • The department emphasized that opening an inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing, and CalEPA and CARB did not immediately comment as the action unfolds alongside broader federal‑state clashes over DEI and environmental regulation.