The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched a large-scale investigation into Nike Inc.'s human resources policies. The company is suspected of having its ambitious goals for racial diversity among staff lead to systemic discrimination against white employees and job applicants, which contradicts current labor laws. This was reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
The investigation, which has been ongoing since 2024, became known on Wednesday, February 4, after documents were filed in a federal court in Missouri. The EEOC accused Nike of failing to provide sufficient information and ignoring some court requests. A Nike spokesperson, in response, called such an escalation "unexpected," stating that the company had already provided thousands of pages of documentation and acted in good faith.
The core of the claims centers on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Commission is investigating whether Nike's aspiration to increase the proportion of minorities in leadership positions (directors and above) to 30% by 2025 has led to the oppression of other employees during hiring, promotion, or internships. Bloomberg data confirms that in 2020-2021, Nike demonstrated one of the highest rates of hiring non-white employees among the largest U.S. companies.
Trump's policy against DEI programs
The intensification of this investigation coincides with the course of Donald Trump's administration, which has made the fight against "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) programs one of its priorities. The president has repeatedly called on federal agencies to identify and stop corporate practices that he considers discriminatory against the white population of the United States.
Currently, the EEOC has appealed to the court with a demand to oblige Nike to provide the full scope of requested data on mentoring and leadership development programs. If the company's guilt is proven, it could create an important legal precedent for reviewing hiring policies in many other multinational corporations that have implemented similar racial quotas.
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