A Trump appointee is calling for a deep dive into Nike’s business practices as part of the administration’s efforts to abolish DEI.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Wednesday that it had filed a court motion to compel Nike to produce information related to allegations of “intentional race discrimination” against white employees.
Despite no employees speaking out, the February 4 filing relates to a suspected pattern of discrimination in “hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs.”
“The E.E.O.C. seeks information directly relevant to the allegations that Nike subjected white employees, applicants, and training program participants to disparate treatment based on race in various employment decisions, including layoffs, internship programs, mentoring, leadership development, and other career development programs,” the commission said in the motion.
The agency said it took the action after Nike failed to respond to a subpoena for various information, including the criteria used in selecting employees for redundancies and setting executives’ pay.
EEOC chair, Andrea Lucas, an ardent critic of racial diversity initiatives who was appointed last year by President Donald Trump, said US anti-discrimination law is “colour-blind” and protects employees of “all races”.
“Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on even-handed enforcement of Title VII,” Lucas said in a statement, referring to a section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion or sex.
Nike responds
In response, Nike says it has provided thousands of documents to the EEOC and is fully cooperating, so they’re shocked that the commission would pursue the subpoena.
“This feels like a surprising and unusual escalation,” Nike said. “We have had extensive, good-faith participation in an E.E.O.C. inquiry into our personnel practices, programs, and decisions and have had ongoing efforts to provide information and engage constructively with the agency.”
Like many corporate giants in the US, Nike publicly backed social justice causes such as Black Lives Matter prior to Trump’s re-election in 2024.
The EEOC’s action is the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.