The day before a federal judge dismissed Missouri’s DEI case against Starbucks, another DEI-related action unfolded in the state. In the same federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the EEOC filed a petition seeking to compel Nike to comply with an investigative subpoena. The investigation was brought by the Trump-appointed EEOC commissioner (now EEOC chair) in 2024 on the suspicion that Nike’s DEI policies discriminate against white employees. The investigation has yet to result in a lawsuit. The EEOC is arguing that Nike has failed to produce the required information and should be compelled to do so by the court. Nike, on the other hand, is arguing that the subpoena is overly broad. ESG Dive writes of the petition:
“An EEOC official determined that Nike ‘failed to fully provide the information sought’ by the agency, which included internal documentation such as employee records, descriptions of the company’s efforts to increase representation of racial and ethnic minorities, job descriptions for corporate and leadership positions and several other records. The agency filed exhibits with the court including a Jan. 27 response by Nike to EEOC’s subpoena which raised several objections to the information request. Legal representatives for Nike wrote that EEOC’s requests were ‘broad, ambiguous, and unduly burdensome,’ adding that the company agreed to provide documents and information on a rolling basis.”
So once again, government efforts to target private company DEI programs land in the Eastern District of Missouri. We’ll see which way the court rules on this one. However, even if Nike is made to comply with the subpoena, that doesn’t mean the EEOC will choose to bring a lawsuit. Things remain in the investigation stage for the time being.
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