#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
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
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
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
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
The Biden Administration’s embrace of a “whole of government” approach to address environmental justice (EJ) issues occasioned litigation across the country. One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team...more
Louisiana remains at the forefront of environmental justice activity. In just four days from January 19 to January 23, 2024, two courts in Louisiana offered interpretations to environmental justice efforts in the State of...more
At the end of January, a federal judge issued a ruling in a high-profile environmental justice case, Louisiana v. EPA, brought by Louisiana against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice...more
As the objectives gain traction, they are meeting state resistance in court. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) strategic plan for 2022–26, released in March 2022, added a new foundational principle to the...more
In December 2021, we reported on a “Sleeping Giant” being awakened through the Biden Administration’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and its goal of using enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VI as a key tool to...more
This US Supreme Court’s administrative and environmental decisions were somewhat predictable for much of the 2022-2023 term. And then they weren’t – the final weeks of the term especially featured some high-drama decisions....more
In the United States, environmental and public health measures often correlate to variables like education, income, and a community’s racial makeup. In the five decades since Congress began to create comprehensive...more
Earthjustice submitted a March 6th Complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) addressing the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California (“SCAQMD”)....more
Environmental Justice (“EJ”) continued to prove a major focus of the Biden administration in 2022. With wide-ranging initiatives across several federal agencies, the administration worked to strengthen enforcement, release...more
The first two years of the Biden Administration have resulted in a seismic shift in terminology in the environmental space. Environmental justice (EJ), formerly viewed as a theoretical goal, has become unifying federal driver...more
Recent actions by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aim to institutionalize environmental justice as a key agency function and support development of tools, guidance and policies to advance it. A newly formed...more
Requirements associated with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ’s) new Public Participation Plan became effective on November 1, 2022. The plan, which is intended to enhance TCEQ’s compliance with Title VI...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (“EPA”) sent an October 12th Letter of Concern (“LOC”) to the following Louisiana state agencies: Louisiana...more
On September 24, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the establishment of a new office dedicated to advancing civil rights and environmental justice. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil...more
The EPA’s External Rights Compliance Office recently released Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions (“the FAQ”). Stressing “that it is time to use the full extent of its...more
On August 16, 2022, U.S. EPA released its Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that provides guidance to federal, state, and local environmental permitting entities on...more
Environmental justice (EJ) issues continue to be at the forefront of the Biden Administration’s regulatory agenda, with promises to deploy non-environmental statutes - most notably, federal civil rights laws - to address...more
Earthjustice and 11 other environmental organizations submitted a document to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) on June 28th titled: Petition for Action Regarding Deficiencies...more
The Biden Administration and EPA continue to strengthen and expand the federal Environmental Justice (EJ) strategy as evidenced by the President’s April 2022 Equity Action Plan (Plan) and the United States DOJ’s May 2022...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a Consent Decree (“CD”) on behalf of the United States with Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (“Schnitzer”) addressing alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and...more