On April 24, 2025, Judges Landya McCafferty and Stephanie Gallagher, sitting in the United States District Courts in New Hampshire and Maryland, respectively, issued rulings blocking the U.S. Department of Education (DOE)...more
On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, which follows a string of prior EOs aimed at removing DEI programs, which we covered here and here....more
4/25/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disparate Impact ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Review ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday issued a joint press release announcing new “technical assistance documents” identifying specific Diversity, Equity and...more
On March 17, 2025, in an unprecedented action, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), under the direction of Acting Chair Andrea R. Lucas, issued 20 extensive letters to large, prominent law firms containing...more
3/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Law Practice Management ,
Title VII
On March 14, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, issued an order granting the Trump Administration’s motion to stay enforcement of the District Court’s nationwide preliminary injunction on two...more
On February 21, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of three key provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders intended to...more
2/26/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Agencies ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trump Administration
On February 5, 2025, newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to all U.S. Department of Justice Departments targeting private employers’ use of DEI initiatives. The memo is titled “Ending Illegal DEI and...more
Within days of his second inauguration, President Trump issued a number of Executive Orders. While the impact of his Executive Orders will be seen with time, many employers may be left wondering how the Executive Orders...more
Executive Summary: On Monday, March 4, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the August 2022 preliminary injunction issued by Judge Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...more
Executive Summary: Following the Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA v. Harvard/UNC, Attorneys General from 13 states and United States Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas sent letters to business leaders, warning of potential legal...more
11/6/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina
Executive Summary: On June 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 20-year precedent in two lawsuits: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v....more
7/25/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
Supporting a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is essential for employers in today’s environment. Education and training are the keys to understanding the similarities and differences that make your...more
On August 18, 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida entered a preliminary injunction ordering state officials in Florida to take no steps to enforce HB7, or the “Stop WOKE Act,” while the...more
8/24/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Governor DeSantis ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
The “Stop WOKE Act” (HB7) (the “Act”) is set to go into effect on July 1, 2022, following a court decision this week declining to enter an injunction to halt the Act. The Act, among other things, restricts employers from...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Governor DeSantis ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
HB7, commonly known as the Stop Woke Act, is a law that amends the Florida Civil Rights Act to make it unlawful for employers to host mandatory employee trainings that promote certain concepts related to discrimination,...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Governor DeSantis ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
On Friday, April 22, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the “Stop WOKE” Act (HB 7) (“the Act”) into law. The Act has drawn national attention and debate, as it creates legal restrictions and prohibitions on what...more
What Are Microaggressions? -
“Death by a thousand cuts.” This is what microaggressions feel like to the impacted individual. Dr. Derald Wing Sue, a Columbia University professor and pioneer in the field of cross-cultural...more
Executive Summary: Maintaining a diverse workforce is increasingly necessary for companies to be successful and competitive in the global marketplace. But what happens when diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives collide...more
Executive Summary: President Biden wasted no time following his inauguration on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, signing over a dozen executive actions, including the Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for...more
1/22/2021
/ Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Executive Orders ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Policy Statement ,
Race Discrimination
On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “EO”), which indicates that it seeks to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and...more
10/13/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “EO”), which seeks to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating,” and end...more
10/6/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration