US Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety Alert
On 19 March 2025, the US Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued two technical assistance documents clarifying what workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices the federal agencies may consider to be “discriminatory.” Importantly, the federal government also has confirmed that DEI initiatives, policies, programs, or practices can lawfully exist. While the technical assistance documents are not binding, they serve as interpretive guidelines for enforcement agents and are expressly intended to “increase public awareness of how existing rules apply to DEI programs.”1
Following multiple executive orders (EOs) from President Donald Trump pertaining to DEI, employers have awaited agency guidance to answer key questions regarding the scope and meaning of “illegal DEI”—an undefined concept in the EOs that has been the subject of multiple legal challenges.2 Initial guidance now has been provided with the issuance by the EEOC and the DOJ of a one-page technical assistance document, “What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work” and a longer question-and-answer technical assistance document, “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work” (Q&A) (together, Technical Assistance Documents).
In the publication titled, “What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI...
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a significant False Claims Act (FCA) ruling in United States of America ex rel. Cheryl Taylor v. Healthcare ...