On June 29, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind two policy documents laying out steps employers can take to increase representation of historically marginalized groups in the workplace (i.e., affirmative action). The two documents are the EEOC’s “Affirmative Action Appropriate Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
On May 5, 2026, the EEOC filed suit against the New York Times (NYT) in the Southern District of New York for engaging in DEI-related discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that the NYT violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it passed over a white male employee for a promotion to deputy real estate
On January 19, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a blistering 74-page advisory opinion asserting the unconstitutionality of many common diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in both the public and private sectors. While the opinion at times veers more towards policy signaling than fresh legal analysis, employers should take note, especially where it
Following a number of 2025 executive orders and combined guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice (DOJ) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a July 29, 2025, nine-page memorandum issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi provides more specific guidance on DEI initiatives by recipients of federal funding, and may
Before June 5, 2025, the law (at least in some jurisdictions) was that majority-group employees (e.g., white or heterosexual) had to show additional “background circumstances” in addition to a prima facie case to prove discrimination – a heightened evidentiary standard. However, the U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected the “background circumstances” rule in Ames v. Ohio
As you know, there’s been a frenzy around DEI initiatives this year in the of wake President Trump’s executive orders regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. We addressed the executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” here, and our Bradley colleagues in the Government Contracts Practice Group weighed in on DEI