Examining DEI one year after SFFA v. Harvard/UNC

In a momentous decision overturning decades of precedents, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in SFFA v. Harvard/UNC last year that the use of race in college admissions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Harvard) and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (UNC). While the decision was focused on higher education, it has been used to threaten employers over their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Two DEI opponents use SFFA against programs

After Edward Blum’s organization Students for Fair Admission (SFFA) successfully eliminated the use of race in college admissions, he challenged law firms’ fellowships for underrepresented groups through his American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER). In response, several law firms revised their fellowship programs to eliminate membership in historically underrepresented groups. Other firms removed racial language from the descriptions of their DEI programs, and some have eliminated their fellowships entirely.

Stephen Miller and his America First Legal (AFL) have been filing “civil rights complaints” with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) seeking investigations into the DEI practices of over 30 large corporations as well as the NFL and NASCAR. AFL has also filed a lawsuit against Meta and film producers saying their diversity program discriminated against whites.

Republican AGs challenge DEI programs