The Fourth Circuit upheld a verdict in a case brought by David Duvall, a former white male employee of Novant Health who claimed that he lost his job as a result of reverse discrimination. He was awarded $4 million in lost wages, benefits, and interest. Duvall argued that his race and gender were factors in his employment termination and provided evidence that he was fired largely due to being white and male. He shared the diversity-based initiatives that he believes motivated his termination, including:
- A wide scale D&I Initiative to ensure that Novant Health’s workforce and leadership reflected the communities it served by committing to additional diversity in its leadership teams, including diversity and inclusion in its decision-making framework, and closing gaps in diversity.
- Data showing a dramatic increase in female leaders by 2019 (the year after Duvall was fired) and an overall increase in Black employees and leaders.
- A long-term financial incentive plan that tied executive compensation to closing gaps in the Hispanic and Asian workforce by achieving a specific percentage of each group.
The verdict in this case shows how challenging it can be to strike the right balance between making real impact and litigation risk. This case highlights dilemmas for companies that aim to move past performative action and surface-level commitments into taking action to create more opportunities for people who have historically been denied these opportunities. Don’t fret – instead, prepare for anti-DEI sentiment. Partner with your legal team to ensure that your initiatives, goals, and decisions are legal. Terminations and hires should be well-documented and shouldn’t be purely motivated by race and gender. Instead of backing down from DEI, partner with your legal team to fortify your plans.
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