Employers Pushed to Rethink DEI Programs as EEOC Ups Scrutiny

Employers are under pressure to adjust their diversity efforts such as trainings and affinity groups to avoid Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges after the agency issued new guidance targeting these programs.

The joint technical assistance document released March 19 outlines aspects of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion plans the EEOC and Department of Justice view as discriminatory. The Trump administration has already said it would scrutinize DEI, particularly at companies with federal contracts, through a suite of executive orders.

The new guidance puts even more private employers on alert, spelling out an interpretation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil ...