NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

While the government has technically been shut down since Oct. 1, the legislative and judicial branches have remained busy.

Last Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Brittany Panuccio, restoring a quorum to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and, according to Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, empowering the agency “to deliver fully on our promise to advance the most significant civil rights agenda in a generation under President Trump.”

Likely near the top of that agenda, according to two Seyfarth Shaw attorneys who spoke to HR Dive recently, is Title VII litigation related to DEI programming. In the spring, Lucas set the stage for EEOC’s focus on the topic, releasing technical assistance documents intended to educate the public on the potential for unlawful DEI policy in the workplace. Seyfarth Partner Christopher DeGroff said it was very likely a DEI lawsuit from EEOC that is “systemic in nature” will be coming down the pike. 

Private litigation on the topic has already exploded, with majority-group plaintiffs relying on the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1866. 

See below for a smattering of recent lawsuits relating to DEI, as well as useful guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and some advice on how to handle an EEOC inquiry. 

We’ll be following EEOC’s moves as a quorum gets up and running — shortly after the government itself starts back up. Stick with us.