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Latest Cases & Developments
Date:
Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity – The White House (Jan. 21, 2025)
Executive Order: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. This Executive Order requires all executive departments and agencies to terminate all “discriminatory and illegal” preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements, conclusively ceasing all programs that promote “diversity.” The Order revokes several prior Executive Orders charged with promoting diversity, notably, revoking prior Orders implementing the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1965. Federal contracts and grants are required to now include (1) a term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code; and (2) a term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws. The Order charges the Attorney General to submit a report within 120 days of the Order proposing a strategic enforcement plan that identifies key sectors of concern and current DEI practices. Additionally, each agency is charged with identifying up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars. Finally, the Order requires that within 120 days the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education will jointly issue guidance to all State and local educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as well as all institutions of higher education that receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal student loan assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, regarding the measures and practices required to comply with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023). On January 22, the White House also published a Fact Sheet to aid in the implementation of the Order.
Topics:
Diversity in Employment | Faculty & Staff | Governance | Government Relations & Community AffairsDate:
Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing – The White House (Jan. 20, 2025)
Executive Order: Ending Racial and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing. This Executive Order terminates all “discriminatory” programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear. The Order also terminates all “environmental justice” offices and positions (including but not limited to “Chief Diversity Officer” positions), as well as all “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts. Finally, the Order charges deputy agency or department heads to assess the operational impact and cost of the prior administration’s DEI and environmental justice programs and policies and then recommend actions to align agency or department activities and policies with respect to the Order.
Topics:
Diversity in Employment | Faculty & StaffDate:
American Association of University Professors New Statement on DEI Criteria and Faculty Evaluation (Oct. 9, 2024)
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) New Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Criteria and Faculty Evaluation. The AAUP released a new statement titled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Criteria for Faculty Evaluation, which holds that, when appropriately designed and implemented, DEI criteria for faculty appointment, reappointment, tenure, and promotion are compatible with academic freedom and may serve as an important means of fostering a diverse and inclusive academic environment. It encourages colleges and universities to recruit and retain diverse student and scholarly bodies. The statement was approved by the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure.
Topics:
Diversity in Employment | Faculty & StaffDate:
Haltigan v. Drake (N.D. Cal. Jan. 12, 2024)
Order granting Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is seeking employment in postsecondary psychology departments across the country. He brought First Amendment unconstitutional conditions and viewpoint discrimination claims against the University of California, Santa Cruz, challenging its Advancing Faculty Diversity program and the requirement that candidates submit a diversity statement for consideration for open faculty positions. He alleged that he did not apply for an open position because it would require him “to alter his behavior and remain silent … or recant his views to conform to the dictates of the University administration.” In granting defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing, the court held that plaintiff’s bare statement that he “desires a position at the University” was insufficient to allege that he was “able and ready” to apply in order to establish competitor standing. The court further found that plaintiff had alleged insufficient facts to show that his application would be futile.
Topics:
Constitutional Issues | Diversity in Employment | Faculty & Staff | First Amendment & Free Speech
NACUA Annual Conference
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