By David Hood-Nuño, Bianca Flowers and Nora Eckert
WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-discrimination enforcement agency has a high bar to clear to prove companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion policies run afoul of the law, according to interviews with more than a dozen corporate legal and compliance experts.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under new Chair Andrea Lucas is making a sharp pivot towards what she calls “a more conservative view of civil rights”, like prioritizing cases of discrimination against white men.
That shift, coupled with the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to dismantle DEI programs, is set to collide with the boundaries of U.S. discrimination law, long a cornerstone of workplace equality.
The move signals a broader campaign to redefine the meaning of workplace fairness, setting up a potential clash with corporate America, which has widely adopted DEI measures to hire and retain diverse talent.
Lucas plans to open inquiries into corporate DEI practices to find whether employers made race or sex-based decisions, she told Reuters in an exclusive interview last week. Specifically, she called for submissions of possible instances of discrimination against white men by corporate DEI practices.
But a program is not illegal just because the administration says so, said former EEOC Chair Jenny Yang. The agency still has to build a case and convince the courts that a company’s programs violate discrimination law.
“In many situations, the work that might fall within the umbrella term of diversity, equity, inclusion is foundational work to prevent discrimination and ensure equal opportunity, which is the employer’s obligation under the law,” Yang said.
Still, as chair, Lucas has a full suite of legal options to investigate companies that have DEI programs. She can subpoena for documents, depose executives and sue for any violation of workplace laws.
The EEOC’s looming transformation comes after nearly a year of mostly posturing against companies since Trump issued a pair of anti-DEI executive orders less than 48 hours after he was sworn into office in January, purging the government of DEI initiatives, offices and personnel and mandating every federal agency to discourage private entities from implementing DEI initiatives.
Conservatives like Robby Starbuck, a right-wing anti-DEI influencer, are capitalizing on the moment and trying to get the administration’s policies into law.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations about that with lawmakers because that is a very, very important part of this,” he said in an interview. “You have got to codify this into law; it’s much harder to kill it than if it’s an executive order.”
PROVING DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS
Lucas said she is ready to prove – in court if necessary – that harm has been done to white men as a result of DEI programs.
She cited a widely circulated article in Compact Magazine, known for its array of bipartisan populist writers, alleging individuals were turned down for jobs because of diversity-hiring initiatives, a common conservative refrain that has been vocally criticized by experts and diversity advocates.
“If we have a charge of discrimination against you, we’re going to use the full force of the federal government to remedy it,” Lucas said. “This is a pro-enforcement, pro-American worker administration.”
But there is still a high legal bar to clear, Rutgers law professor Stacy Hawkins said. People alleging discrimination have to demonstrate that a job, promotion, benefits or other compensation were denied because they were male and white, and because an employer preferred the race or sex of someone else.
Most of the time, it is not that white men have been discriminated against, but that the pool of applicants has grown and there is more, legitimate competition from people of color, Hawkins said.
The job market was marked by government-approved exclusion and discrimination for decades before reform, she added, and now white men have to compete against a wider diverse pool of qualified job applicants.
“The thing that has changed is that other people are not (being discriminated against),” Hawkins said.
Many companies and industries have also retooled their DEI programs to stay legally sound.
“The larger automakers are mostly on top of this with legal audits, rebranding and program modifications,” said a former Detroit automotive executive, who spoke under anonymity.
BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY
The basic tenets of corporate DEI doctrine rest on three core principles: ensuring representation of people from diverse backgrounds across all levels of the workforce; equal compensation for every employee and fostering a sense of belonging, all to eliminate systemic bias in the workplace.
Employers recognize the need to hire and retain a workforce that reflects their customers as a strategic business decision that is crucial to long-term success for their employees and shareholders, said former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
It explains why the vast majority of companies have kept their DEI programs and will continue to, despite the bluster from the White House, she said.
“DEI is essential for us to ensure that there are pathways to opportunity and that we continue to remove barriers,” said Abrams, who started a nonprofit DEI advocacy and consulting group American Pride Rises in 2023.
“Most people agree with DEI, most companies practice DEI, and most Americans want a democracy that defends DEI.”
(Reporting by David Hood-Nuño in Washington, Bianca Flowers in Chicago, Nora Eckert in Detroit, Ross Keber in Boston; Editing by Kat Stafford and Nia Williams)
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