The US Department of Justice moved to join a challenge to an Illinois law that requires nonprofits to disclose demographic data about their employees.
The lawsuit from the American Alliance for Equal Rights argues that the state law, which went into effect Jan. 1, effectively pressures nonprofit organizations to discriminate when choosing board members since race and sexual orientation information about those employees must be made public.
The disclosure law “is not only wrong but also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” officials within the DOJ said in a Tuesday filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The federal government is seeking to intervene in the suit.
- The DOJ’s move comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured American companies and ordered federal agencies to ditch diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
- The AAER, an advocacy group led by DEI opponent Edward Blum, asserted violations of the Fourteenth and First amendments of the US Constitution
- The group is seeking a court order prohibiting state officials from enforcing or implementing the law
Consovoy McCarthy PLLC represents AAER.
The case is Am. All. For Equal Rts. v. Bennett, N.D. Ill., No. 1:25-cv-00669, 3/4/25.
(Corrects paragraph 7 to clarify that only Consovoy McCarthy PLLC represents AAER.)
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