#WorkforceWednesday: The Ripple Effect of the Supreme Court’s SFFA Ruling for Diversity in the Workplace - Employment Law This Week®
Business Better Podcast Episode: Is DEI at Risk? Considerations on the US Supreme Court Ruling Against Affirmative Action Programs
This summer, the Ohio House of Representatives passed the Campus Accountability and Modernization to Protect University Students (CAMPUS) Act. This law, if enacted, would require institutions of higher education throughout...more
On August 22, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana permanently blocked the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice from implement Civil Rights Act Title VI...more
On July 30, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was not deliberately indifferent to antisemitism on its campus, and provided some guidance as to how courts may interpret...more
After a year marked by student protests on university campuses nationwide, including encampments and commencement ceremony walk-outs, universities are scrambling to prepare for students’ return to campus the upcoming Fall...more
Colleges and schools tend to value pluralistic communities that offer rich diversity and varied perspectives. That complex tapestry of backgrounds and life experiences adds dimension, but it can also bring strife between...more
On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Fact Sheet, which provides guidance to help school districts prevent and address discrimination, including harassment,...more
In recent months, OCR has reached resolution agreements with a school district and two universities after investigating complaints of discrimination and harassment based on ancestry or ethnicity, including allegations...more
On July 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it had reached a resolution agreement with Brown University. This action followed an investigation concluding that Brown...more
Employer's DEI mandate scores a win. A white guy refused to take his employer's mandatory "unconscious bias" training, and he was fired. He sued the employer for retaliation, his lawsuit was dismissed, and this week an...more
On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new Fact Sheet. This document aims to help faculty, staff, students and families understand their rights and obligations under Title...more
Case resolutions released by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) in the past two weeks may be signaling a change in how OCR expects institutions of higher education to comply with Title VI’s mandate...more
Following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests against racial inequity in 2020, many companies increased their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as their external...more
Recent resolution agreements between the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the University of Michigan (U-M) and the City University of New York (CUNY) offer valuable lessons for colleges and...more
A hallmark of the Biden Administration’s approach to environmental justice has been using preexisting authorities to advance its agenda, none more so than Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. That approach now faces several...more
Diversity efforts are not synonymous with discrimination. A first-year law student at New York University, identified as Plaintiff John Doe, sued the institution in October 2023, challenging the selection process for...more
The Natural Resources Defense Council and Los Jardines Institute (collectively, “NRDC”) submitted a May 30th document to EPA styled: Complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Environmental Protection...more
In a case that has been closely watched by the charitable sector, on June 3, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a decision blocking a race-based grant program that provided funds and mentorship to...more
On May 30, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted New York University’s (NYU) motion to dismiss in a lawsuit[1] from a first-year law student claiming that NYU School of Law’s process for...more
On May 6, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its final rule revamping the non-discrimination regulations issued under § 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The revised rules apply to all...more
On May 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) again issued guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to educational institutions discussing how Title VI of the Civil Rights Act...more
Colleges and universities around the country have been dealing with increasingly violent and contentious student protests in recent months. Many have had to deal with student, parent, faculty, donor, and public criticisms...more
In response to increases in discrimination complaints, the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter: Protecting Students from Discrimination, such as Harassment, Based on Race,...more
In the midst of antiwar protests and a rise in antisemitic incidents at institutions of higher education (IHE) across the country, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on May 7, 2024...more
Attorneys General from 23 states have filed a petition for rulemaking with the Environmental Protection Agency demanding the agency stop using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when regulating pollution. The petition,...more
A group of 23 Republican AGs filed a petition for rulemaking to the EPA demanding that it amend its regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act that prohibit recipients of EPA funds from engaging in certain...more