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It’s been another busy week in the battle over DE&I, with leaders suing the Trump administration over the president’s executive orders, and the new attorney general directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate private companies’ DE&I activities. Despite the threats, one legal expert told HR Brew that private-sector companies should resist the government’s bullying tactics.
On Feb. 3, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the city of Baltimore, the Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROCU), and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) sued the Trump administration over the DE&I-related executive orders issued last month, according to CBS News. The suit, filed in Maryland district court, claimed, among other things, that the anti-DE&I executive orders violate the first amendment.
Taking back the mic on Feb. 5, the newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to DOJ employees outlining her priorities, including targeting DE&I, Slate reported. She directed the DOJ’s Civil Rights division to submit by Mar. 6 recommendations to “encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including policies relating to DEI and DEIA.” Under her directive, private companies could be subjected to “criminal investigation” and civil penalties.
“This as a vicious bullying tactic aimed at making DE&I advocates and pro-DE&I organizations cower in fear,” David Glasgow, a lawyer and executive director at the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at New York University School of Law, told HR Brew via email. He noted that companies would have grounds for a constitutional challenge, should these threats come to fruition.
Keep reading here.—KP
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