Trump’s anti-corporate DEI campaign faces high legal hurdles

Written 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 for proving companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion policies are unlawful, according to interviews with more than a dozen corporate law and compliance experts.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, under new Chairman Andrea Lucas, is taking a sharp turn toward what she calls a “more conservative view of civil rights,” such as prioritizing cases of discrimination against white men.

This shift, combined with the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to eliminate ‌DEI programs, will collide with the limits of U.S. discrimination law, long a cornerstone of workplace equality.

The move signals a broader campaign to redefine the meaning of fairness in the workplace, setting up a potential conflict with corporate America, which has widely embraced DEI’s measures to recruit and retain diverse talent.

Lucas told Reuters in an exclusive interview last week that she plans to open investigations into corporate DEI practices to find out whether employers are making decisions based on race or gender. It specifically called for presentation of possible cases of discrimination against white men due to corporate DEI practices.

But former EEOC Chairman Jenny Yang said a program isn’t illegal just because the administration says so. The agency still needs to build a case and convince the courts that a company’s programs violate discrimination law.

“In many cases, work that may fall under the umbrella term diversity, equity and inclusion is essential work to prevent discrimination and ensure equal opportunity, and this is the employer’s obligation under the law,” Yang said.

Still, as president, Lucas has a full suite of legal options to investigate companies with DEI programs. It can subpoena documents, fire executives, and sue for violations of workplace laws.

The EEOC’s impending transformation comes after Trump took a stance against companies for nearly a year, issuing a pair of anti-DEI executive orders less than 48 hours after taking office in January, purging the government of DEI initiatives, offices and staff, and directing every federal agency to dissuade private entities from implementing DEI initiatives.

Conservatives like right-wing, anti-DEI influencer Robby Starbuck are taking advantage of the moment and trying to enact the administration’s policies.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with lawmakers about this issue because it’s a very, very important part of this,” he said in an interview. “You need to make it law; it’s a lot harder to eliminate than it is to be an executive order.”

PROOF OF DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS

Lucas said he is prepared to prove in court if necessary that white men have been harmed as a result of DEI programs.

He cited a widely circulated article in Compact Magazine, known for its bipartisan populist writers; that article claimed that individuals were being turned away from jobs because of diversity hiring initiatives, a common conservative refrain that experts and diversity advocates have been vocally criticizing.

“If there are charges of discrimination against you, we will use the full power of the federal government to correct it,” Lucas said. “This is pro-sanctions, pro-American labor management.”

But Rutgers law professor Stacy Hawkins said there is still a high legal hurdle to clear. People claiming discrimination must prove that they were denied a job, promotion, benefits or other compensation because they were male and white and because the employer favored someone else’s race or gender.

For the most part, white men are not discriminated against, but the applicant pool has increased and there is more legitimate competition among people of color, Hawkins said.

The job market, he added, had been marked by decades of government-sanctioned exclusion and discrimination before the reform, and white men now had to compete against a broader pool of qualified job applicants.

“What has changed is that other people are not discriminated against,” Hawkins said.

Many companies and industries have also reformed their DEI programs to remain legally sound.

“Larger automakers mostly get around this with regulatory audits, rebranding and program changes,” said a former Detroit auto executive who spoke anonymously.

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY

The core tenets of the corporate DEI doctrine are based on three core principles: Ensuring representation of people from diverse backgrounds at all levels of the workforce; Equal pay for every employee and promoting a sense of belonging are all geared towards eliminating systemic bias in the workplace.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said employers recognize the need to hire and retain a workforce that reflects their customers as a strategic business decision vital to long-term success for their employees and shareholders.

He said it explains why the vast majority of companies have and will continue to pursue DEI programs despite the White House’s bluster.

“DEI is very important to us in terms of ensuring that there are pathways to opportunity and that we continue to remove barriers,” said Abrams, who launched a DEI advocacy nonprofit and consulting group American Pride Rises in 2023.

“Most people agree with DEI, most companies practice DEI, and most Americans want a democracy that champions DEI.”

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(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)