A group of Democrat attorneys general are pushing back on the behalf of corporations, stating on Wednesday they would not be prosecuting companies for their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Now, 21 Democrat attorney generals have issued a letter to the Fortune 100 CEOs, assuring them their corporate diversity programs are “lawful and serve important business purposes.”
They applauded the companies’ DEI efforts as “ethically responsible, good for business, and good for building America’s workforce.”
Zero-Sum Race Factors
Prior to the ruling last month, in states without an affirmative action ban, universities that considered race did so in compliance with the decision set forth in Grutter v. Bollinger, which ruled that race could be used as a “plus” factor, but could never count against an applicant.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion that it was by definition discrimination “to treat that individual worse than others who are similarly situated.”
“And no one can doubt that both schools intentionally treat some applicants worse than others at least in part because of their race,” he wrote.
AFL put companies on notice the same day the ruling came out.
The Republican attorneys general sent a letter to CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Johnson & Johnson, writing, “We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices.”
“If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable.”
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
The efficacy of ESG, or environmental, social, and corporate governance, has been a recent concerns at the top levels of government. Spotlight fell on corporations’ willingness to lose money over making statements on environmental or social issues with recent Target and Bud Light boycotts.
The Democrat attorneys general maintain that these are legitimate efforts because they “help combat these inequities” driven by race. They asserted that “decades of discrimination” was reason to seek increased racial diversity through “race-neutral inclusion efforts” that cannot be termed “quotas.”
The letter, addressed to Fortune 100 CEOs, made mention of a statistic that only 12 percent of these CEOs were women and only 14 percent were not white, despite the companies’ workforces being 50 percent women and 40 percent not white.
“The impact this disparity has on women and communities of color cannot be overstated,” they wrote.
They made no mention of the shareholder losses caused by these efforts such as with the high profile Target and Anheuser-Busch cases.
“Affirmative efforts by private sector businesses to diversify their workforces remain vital both morally—to address past and present discrimination—and economically—to achieve a healthy economy and productive workforce,” they wrote.
The attorneys maintained that diversity ultimately resulted in productivity, a benefit to these companies’ bottom line, without naming any specific cases or companies.
“As a result of these efforts, corporate America has grown more diverse and more representative of American society. The economies of our states have likewise benefited from diversity and inclusion, as workers share their diverse beliefs, experiences, and ideas, becoming better informed, more creative, and ultimately, more productive.”
They added that it was misleading to use the recent Supreme Court case as basis to prosecute: “Irrespective of SFFA, hiring decisions made on the basis of race are prohibited under Title VII and have been for decades.
“Now more than ever, private sector employers play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining the societal and economic benefits of diversity.”
