Blum Group Gets Diversity Recruiter to Alter Candidate Criteria

Jopwell Inc., an employee recruiting platform that said it catered to “Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals” agreed to change the wording on its website to clarify that everyone can use its services.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Delaware by Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights, an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion group that’s been on a legal crusade to topple private-sector diversity initiatives. AAER alleged that Jopwell violated the federal civil rights law that prohibits racial discrimination in contracts by targeting its offerings to people exclusively on the basis of race.

In the stipulation of dismissal filed Wednesday, Jopwell’s attorney said that the Jopwell doesn’t and won’t limit the availability of its platform based on the candidates race or ethnicity. “Candidates of every race and ethnicity can register on the platform as a ‘member,’ and Jopwell’s platforms and services are equally available to members of all races and ethnicities,” the stipulation says.

The stipulation also says that Jopwell’s partner companies, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Deloitte, Google, American Express Co., and Johnson & Johnson, can’t see a candidate’s race or ethnicity when they search for potential employees or receive applications through Jopwell’s platform.

Under the stipulation, Jopwell will alter language on its website that said its services are exclusively for “Black, Latinx, or Native American” applicants. For example, Jopwell must revise the statement that it “represent[s] and advance[s] careers for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals,” to read that it “represents and advances careers for all students and professionals, including those who identify as Black, Latinx, and Native American.”

Jopwell also agreed to add language to its registration website that makes clear that “providing race and ethnicity information is purely voluntary and explaining that whether or how a registrant answers the race/ethnicity question will have no effect on his or her ability to register for Jopwell’s services,” the stipulation says.

The registration portal on Jopwell’s website will stop redirecting candidates to separate forms depending on which option they select for “race/ethnicity,” the stipulation says. “Instead, all candidates will complete the same registration process,” it says.

Offit Kurman PA and Consovoy McCarthy PLLC represent AAER. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP represent Jopwell.

The case is Am. All. for Equal Rights v. Jopwell Inc., D. Del., No. 1:24-cv-01142-GBW, stipulation of dismissal filed 12/18/24.