Hostile Work Environment Claims Aimed at DEI Gain Early Traction

Early-stage court victories for White employees’ DEI program-related hostile work environment claims have cracked open the door to more use of this legal tactic, as employers brace for more suits over diversity initiatives.

The latest such case to inch forward is a federal lawsuit by Danielle Johnson, an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality employee, who said the agency’s diversity, equity, and inclusion program created workplace “anti-White bias” and led to her being demoted and vilified as racist.

Her hostile work environment claims survived a motion-to-dismiss ruling earlier this month, similar to cases brought by former Penn State Professor Zack De ...