Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into University of California Hiring Practices

New York Times

2 days ago

The Trump administration on Thursday targeted California's education system for the second time in two days, announcing a new Justice Department investigation into whether a plan to build a university system that more closely reflects the state's racial and ethnic diversity violates civil rights laws against discrimination.
The investigation was made public just 24 hours after the U.S. Education Department declared that California was breaking federal law by allowing transgender girls to compete on female sports teams. The federal government gave the state 10 days to reverse its policies or face 'imminent enforcement action.'
On Thursday, Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's top civil rights attorney, said in a letter to Michael V. Drake, the president of the University of California system, that she was focused on the 'University of California 2030 Capacity Plan,' which she said might discriminate against some employees, job applicants and training program participants.
The government's news release about the inquiry said that the university plan required campuses to meet quotas for race- and sex-based employment.
The 44-page plan is a three-year-old planning document aimed at expanding enrollment in the University of California system while also 'reflecting California's diversity.' It makes no specific mention of quotas, but does note that future growth of faculty and students should result in campus populations that 'better reflect and tap the talent of underrepresented populations who represent the majority of Californians.'
The plan offers parameters on how to achieve that while also meeting Gov. Gavin Newsom's goal of 70 percent of working-age Californians earning postsecondary degrees or certificates by 2030.
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