Gibson Dunn has formed a Workplace DEI Task Force, bringing to bear the Firm’s experience in employment, appellate and Constitutional law, DEI programs, securities and corporate governance, and government contracts to help our clients develop creative, practical, and lawful approaches to accomplish their DEI objectives following the Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA v. Harvard. Prior issues of our DEI Task Force Update can be found in our DEI Resource Center. Should you have questions about developments in this space or about your own DEI programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of our DEI Task Force or the authors of this Update (listed below).
Key Developments:
In California, new challenges have emerged to DEI-related programs in the state’s community college system. In April 2023, the California Community College system adopted new regulations, requiring faculty to “employ teaching, learning, and professional practices that incorporate DEIA . . . principles” and directing community colleges to “consider[] an employee’s demonstrated, or progress toward, proficiency in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility [ ] competencies” in employee evaluations. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 5, §§ 53602, 53605. Two groups of professors, represented by the nonprofit organization Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), sued the California Community College system in June and August 2023 in the Eastern District of California. Both suits...
Pakistani actress and model Ayesha Omar has strongly denied a controversial statement falsely attributed to her on social media. In recent days, a statement circulated online claiming that the act...