For President Donald Trump’s operatives seeking corporate targets to investigate for “illegal DEI,” conservative activists have already done the legwork and drawn up a list.

From Amazon.com Inc. to Yum! Brands Inc., 45 companies with a combined market value of almost $10 trillion have been attacked for their DEI efforts in the past three years by groups led by Stephen Miller, now the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, and anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum. Corporate lawyers and advisers are now poring over the list for clues as to which companies may eventually end up being investigated by the government.

Corporate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, many of which were implemented less than five years ago when companies rushed to address historic inequities after the murder of George Floyd by a White police officer, are now in sharp focus as the new administration moves to dismantle DEI. The Justice Department, which is preparing a report by March 1 identifying steps to deter the use of “discriminatory” DEI programs in the private sector, has even threatened criminal investigations.

The department didn’t respond to requests for comment on its plans. One of Trump’s initial orders regarding DEI asked agency heads to identify up to nine companies or other entitities that might be practicing “illegal DEI.” The order stated that DEI policies aimed at boosting underrepresented groups can violate federal civil-rights laws.

‘Target-rich’

Companies spotlighted in recent lawsuits and complaints are a good indication of “who they’re going to go after,” said Michael Elkins, who represents businesses on employment law issues as founder and partner at MLE Law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “They have a blueprint.”

Miller and Blum’s groups highlighted what they described as “unlawful” practices at the 45 companies, including hiring based on gender or race, scholarships based on race, and funding for startups owned by underrepresented groups.

“This is a target-rich environment,” said Blum, whose lawsuits helped convince the U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions in 2023 and supercharged right-leaning groups’ assault on DEI in corporate America. Companies are exposing themselves to risk by keeping their DEI programs, he said.

Blum wouldn’t discuss whether he had direct conversations with administration officials, but said companies should be “mindful” of this government and end practices that are “actionable in court, and unpopular and polarizing.” He is pursuing companies including American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co., and last month won a settlement with McDonald’s Corp.

Lawsuits, complaints

Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck said he’s in touch with administration officials and plans to “report any evidence of illegal discrimination against any race or sex we find.” Starbuck, who wouldn’t give details about his contact with the government, has claimed credit for DEI rollbacks at more than 15 companies, including Walmart Inc., the world’s biggest retailer.

Miller’s group, America First Legal, has been the most active in its pursuit of company DEI programs that it says discriminates against White men. AFL has filed more than half a dozen lawsuits and more than 30 requests for federal or state investigations of companies.

It says that race, sex and national origin aren’t supposed to be “a motivating factor in employment practice,” according to Reed Rubinstein, senior vice president at America First Legal. The Trump administration used similar language in a Feb. 5 memo clarifying instructions to agency heads on how to identify prohibited DEI.

Most of AFL’s complaints against DEI practices at companies such as Walt Disney Co., Nike Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. were sent to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws. The companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.

DEI retreat

Already, consulting firms Accenture Plc, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. and Deloitte have abandoned their diversity goals, citing Trump’s executive order banning diversity efforts at federal contractors. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., both government contractors, said they’re preparing to comply with the order.

Companies should be wary of making dramatic changes in DEI policy, even if they have been called out in the past, said Aaron Goldstein, an employment law partner at Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle office. He said he has clients who have been attacked by conservative groups, but wouldn’t comment on whether they are on AFL’s list.

The Trump administration will likely go after companies that are high profile and have made strong statements in support of DEI in the past, he said. The best a company can do is examine both external and internal communications — and be prepared.

“If you go running from DEI in a very public way, after having embraced it over the last three years, you might be hit by traffic going both ways,” Goldstein said. “The worst thing that can happen to a company is: You’re still on that list, but you’ve lost all your good faith and credibility with folks on the other side of these issues.”

Companies with outstanding lawsuits

Ally Financial Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

Bally’s Corp.

Expedia Group Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Paramount Global (multiple)

Progressive Corp

Southwest Airlines Co.

Target Corp.

Source: America First Legal, American Alliance for Equal Rights

Companies with federal or state complaints made

Alaska Air Group Inc.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

BlackRock Inc.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.

Hasbro Inc.

Hershey Co

Hy-Vee Inc.

Kellanova

Kontoor Brands Inc.

Lyft Inc.

Macy’s Inc.

Major League Baseball

Mars Inc.

Mattel Inc.

McDonald’s Corp.

Microsoft Corp. (Activision)

Morgan Stanley

Nascar

National Football League

Nike Inc.

Nordstrom Inc.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Salesforce Inc.

Sanofi SA

Shake Shack Inc.

Smithfield Foods Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

Twilio Inc.

Tyson Foods Inc.

Unilever PLC

Walt Disney Co

Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Yum! Brands Inc.

Source: America First Legal

(With assistance from Gerson Freitas Jr., Jaewon Kang, Brody Ford, Sabah Meddings, Mary Schlangenstein, Deena Shanker, Matt Day, Silla Brush, Andrew Martin, Natalie Lung, Jeannette Neumann, Thomas Buckley and Alexandre Rajbhandari.)

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