McDonald's Faces Lawsuit Over Latino Scholarship Program

The lawsuit challenges the program's eligibility criteria, alleging racial discrimination, following McDonald's rollback of some diversity initiatives.

The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) filed a lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming its HACER National Scholarships Program discriminates by limiting eligibility to students with Hispanic or Latino heritage.
The lawsuit comes shortly after McDonald's announced changes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, including ending diversity goals for corporate leadership.
Since 1985, the HACER program has awarded over $33 million in scholarships to more than 17,000 Hispanic and Latino students, with individual awards reaching up to $100,000.
The AAER, led by Edward Blum, is seeking a court injunction to halt the program, arguing it violates federal civil rights laws by excluding students of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
McDonald's stated it is reviewing the complaint and emphasized its ongoing evaluation of programs to ensure alignment with its updated inclusion strategy.