Nike Is Investigated for Alleged Discrimination Against White Workers

The federal watchdog responsible for fighting workplace discrimination has picked a high-profile target in its efforts to eradicate corporate diversity practices: Nike NKE 5.40%increase; green up pointing triangle.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that it had opened an investigation into whether Nike discriminated against white workers in hiring, layoffs and other decisions in its efforts to diversify its workforce. The agency filed a subpoena enforcement action against Nike in a federal Missouri court, adding that it had sought information about its diversity efforts since 2018.

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Nike is the biggest company yet to be targeted by the agency for its diversity practices in the second Trump administration. The Republican chair of the EEOC, Andrea Lucas, has enthusiastically supported President Trump’s efforts to fight what the White House has called “illegal DEI” programs. Last year, she opened investigations into the diversity programs of 20 law firms. Lucas recently took to social media to urge white men to report if they felt they had been harmed by corporate efforts to diversify workforces. Many employers bolstered those efforts after a national reckoning about racism sparked by George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

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The EEOC is investigating whether Nike’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs resulted in “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees.” The EEOC didn’t refer to any specific allegations from workers who said they had suffered discrimination because of Nike’s DEI programs. As part of the probe, the EEOC has been seeking information about how Nike selects workers for layoffs and how it tracks workers’ race and ethnicity data. The agency is also looking into 16 programs that allegedly provide race-restricted mentoring and career development.

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Among the complaints against Nike is a claim filed with the EEOC by America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit law firm co-founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, that has focused on filing complaints about diversity programs.

In AFL’s claim, it alleged Nike was using numerical quotas to ensure diversity in hiring, training and promotion, which it claimed excluded white, straight men.

AFL has filed complaints on similar grounds against a range of other public companies, including Disney, Starbucks and Salesforce.

Companies, including Nike, made a widespread push to increase racial and gender diversity following the #MeToo movement and Floyd’s killing. Nike had already been facing lawsuits in 2018 and 2019 from former employees alleging racial and gender-based discrimination.

In response to Floyd’s death, Nike hired a new chief diversity officer and pledged to invest $40 million over four years to support organizations focused on social justice and racial inequality in the U.S. I quit buying Nike when they supported that POS Colin Kaepernick