DEI 'lives on' after Supreme Court ruling, but critics see an opening
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in favor of a St. Louis police sergeant was almost universally cast as a win for workers, who now have a lower bar for proving discrimination claims. But it’s also being held up by conservative activists intent on dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, who say it will give them added firepower to quash workplace programs reserved for minorities, women and other underrepresented groups.
America First Legal, which has filed more than a dozen complaints over DEI policies at such companies as McDonald’s, Morgan Stanley and the National Football League, is already factoring the ruling into its strategy, according to general counsel Gene Hamilton. The nonprofit, founded by a former White House adviser to Donald Trump, will be “citing this decision in cases as we continue to dismantle so-called DEI programs, which almost always overtly discriminate against American citizens based on their race and sex,” he said.
But civil rights groups such as American Civil Liberties Union dismissed such interpretations as fearmongering with no grounding in law. “These scare-tactics are trying to chill employers’ commitment and investment in expanding workplace opportunity,” Ming-Qi Chu, deputy director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, said in a statement following the decision. “We won’t let them.”
The split screen on Muldrow v. City of St. Louis parallels the partisan divide over DEI and affirmative action programs in business, government and academia. Proponents contend such initiatives are necessary to foster diversity and reach groups that historically have been denied advancement or locked out altogether. Critics contend they discriminate against White people and men, and are designed to advance a liberal worldview.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dei-lives-supreme-court-ruling-153757072.html
