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The companies standing up to Trump on DEI<\/p>\n
Companies like Costco and Levi’s are rejecting the White House’s position on diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n
While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, issued a warning about the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Either DEI will end on its own,” Dhillon told senators, “or we will kill it.” \u00a0<\/p>\n Just hours after he took the oath of office, President Donald Trump<\/a> issued executive orders to dismantle diversity programs<\/a> and directed federal contractors to end \u201cillegal DEI discrimination.\u201d<\/a> Fearing lawsuits and the loss of government contracts, dozens of the nation\u2019s largest companies from McDonald\u2019s to Facebook owner Meta rolled back or eliminated DEI<\/a> programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Worried the Trump administration will target them next, executives are doing everything they can to comply with the president’s directives and stay out of his crosshairs, said one lawyer on the condition of anonymity so he could discuss private client matters.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you see are companies bending themselves to the will of the president,\u201d he said. \u201cThe White House is in charge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Government scrutiny has only intensified as the Trump administration moves aggressively to pressure employers into overhauling hiring practices to align with the president\u2019s political agenda. In recent months, the Justice Department has signaled its intention to investigate federal contractors and grant recipients who \u201cknowingly\u201d violate civil rights laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf a corporate DEI plan reads like a quota, then expect a subpoena,\u201d Brandon Smith, a partner with the Holtzman Vogel law firm and former chief of staff and assistant solicitor general in the Tennessee Attorney General\u2019s Office, recently wrote<\/a> in National Review. \u201cThe era of accountability for violating state and federal civil rights laws has begun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n DEI investigations loom<\/p>\n During her Senate testimony, Dhillon promised the Trump administration would bring \u201cnumerous investigations and lawsuits against institutions that continue to offend our federal civil rights laws.\u201d<\/p>\n In May, the Justice Department created the \u201cCivil Rights Fraud Initiative\u201d and threatened legal action under the False Claims Act, a civil law that allows the government to recover funds lost to fraud.<\/p>\n In a first step, the Justice Department has begun issuing civil investigative demands to employers across a broad range of industries, directing them to turn over information about their DEI programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The use of CIDs \u2013 a legal tool that allows the government to gather information during a civil investigation \u2013 rattled corporate America.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no doubt there is a new sheriff in town,\u201d said Al Chakravarty, a partner with the Saul Ewing law firm. \u201cIt absolutely puts the corporate community in a very challenging situation because in many cases, not only was it tolerated in prior administrations, it was actually encouraged to have programs that increase diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n