#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
As the academic year is now wrapping up, we hope that the final weeks of school have been relatively stress free, and that our clients are now looking forward to some slower summer days. Here at Franczek, we have continued to...more
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, a new enforcement strategy aimed at leveraging the False Claims Act to hold colleges, universities, government contractors, and...more
On May 19, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its plan to use the False Claims Act to investigate and pursue claims of civil rights violations against federal fund recipients. The plan, entitled the Civil...more
According to a memorandum issued on May 19, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will use the False Claims Act as a tool to enforce federal civil rights laws. The new policy memo has serious potential implications for...more
The United States Department of Justice recently announced that it would begin “vigorous enforcement” of the False Claims Act against recipients of federal funds for their use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The...more
Federal officials on Monday launched a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at schools receiving federal funding, the next step in the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement posture against transgender rights, DEI,...more
On May 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum (the “Memorandum”) establishing the Department of Justice’s “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” (the “Initiative”). The program “will utilize the False...more
On April 23, President Trump issued an executive order, "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy" (EO), intending to abolish a longstanding liability theory for workplace discrimination claims. Emphasizing the need...more
On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The EO raises significant new considerations for private companies and...more
A recent executive order attacks DEI accreditation standards as courts block enforcement of the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague Letter on race. On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14279 (EO)...more
On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (order). The order declares disparate impact theory to be “wholly inconsistent with the...more
Another school year is winding down, and educational leaders perhaps have never been more ready for summer break. From the Trump administration’s significant policy shifts to deeply consequential litigation playing out to...more
On May 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Nondiscrimination Requirements for Medical Schools on the Basis of Race, Color, and National Origin pursuant to Students...more
On April 23, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy (the “EO”), which aims to eliminate disparate impact as a theory of liability for unlawful...more
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is developing significant changes to how school discipline is addressed at the federal level. An executive order from President Donald Trump in late April requires the DOE to issue new...more
On April 23, the White House published an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” addressing the principle of equal opportunity in the U.S., and emphasizing “meritocracy and a colorblind...more
On April 23, 2025, the White House issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to investigate and hold accountable accreditors of institutions of higher education that engage in unlawful discriminatory...more
In this alert, we discuss key provisions of the orders and actions implicating the higher education sector and the lawsuits challenging them (building on our previous analysi...). We have grouped these actions based on their...more
A group of 19 Democratic AGs filed a lawsuit to block the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) from enforcing a directive conditioning federal education funding on certification that state and local education agencies will not...more
On April 24, 2025, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire largely blocked the U.S. Department of Education from cutting funding for schools that refuse to drop diversity, equity, and...more
Harvard University has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s decision to freeze more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts benefitting Harvard. The funding freeze came after Harvard refused a list...more
On April 23, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at overhauling the federal system of accreditation for higher education institutions. ...more
On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (the Order). Through this Executive Order, and accompanying Fact Sheet, the Trump Administration...more
On April 24, 2025, the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Hampshire and the District of Maryland issued separate orders blocking enforcement of all, or large portions of, the Dear Colleague Letter (“DCL”) issued by...more
On April 22, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin to unwind “disparate impact” regulations that were established under federal civil rights laws. In the...more