Latest news with #hiringpractices
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
University of California being investigated by DOJ over possible discriminatory hiring practices
The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the University of California and its campuses, saying there are concerns about potential race and sex-based discrimination in the UC's hiring practices. The DOJ said the investigation will look into whether the UC system and its individual campuses violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits an employer from discriminating against people based on their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. "We have reason to believe the University of California's 'UC 2030 Capacity Plan' precipitated unlawful action by the University of California and some or all its constituent campuses," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a letter addressed to UC President Michael Drake. The UC system describes the UC 2030 Capacity Plan as a systemwide effort of how it plans to support California through enrollment strategies and address the state's needs. "Specifically, the Plan discusses enrollment projections, degree attainment, increasing diversity, supporting underserved regions, and meeting workforce demands," the board of regents said in its letter highlighting the plan. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Sell was assigned to the investigation. The DOJ said no conclusions have been reached at the time and it intends to consider all relevant information. "The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws," a UC spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said the UC will work in "good faith" with the DOJ during the investigation.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump administration launches probe into University of California system
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced an investigation into hiring practices at the University of California (UC) system, the latest instance of his feud with higher education. The Department of Justice said on Thursday that it would investigate efforts by the UC system to increase the diversity of staff, accusing the school of employing practices that 'openly measure new hires by their race and sex'. The Trump administration has previously depicted diversity initiatives as a form of discrimination. 'Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination,' Harmeet Dhillion, the head of the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. 'Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law.' In a letter of notice to the University of California, the Justice Department noted that it had 'reason to believe' unlawful actions occurred on some of the school's campuses. But it added that it had not 'reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation'. The University of California system is one of the most prominent public university systems in the US, with 10 campuses and more than 299,000 enrolled students. The school defended its hiring practices on Thursday in response to the investigation announcement. 'The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws,' a spokesperson for the UC system said in a statement. 'The University also aims to foster a campus environment where everyone is welcomed and supported.' President Trump has yet to weigh in on the investigation, but his administration has repeatedly clashed with US universities during his second term in the White House. Prestigious universities, such as Harvard and Columbia, have had federal grants and contracts cancelled over allegations that they have not done enough to crack down on campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The Trump administration said those protests were anti-Semitic and created an unsafe environment for Jews on college campuses. Trump and his allies have also portrayed universities as hotbeds of left-wing ideas and political dissent. In the case of Harvard University, the Trump administration sent a letter on April 11 with a list of demands for changes. One required Harvard to submit to an external audit of its enrollment and staff, to evaluate 'viewpoint diversity' with the aim of implementing 'reforms' to its admissions and hiring practices. The external party, the letter noted, would have to 'satisfy the federal government'. Harvard has resisted those demands, citing the need to protect academic freedom. The Trump administration has since threatened its tax-exempt status and sought to restrict its ability to enrol foreign students. In response, Harvard has filed lawsuits to restore its federal funding and block the Trump administration's attempts to bar foreign students. On Thursday, the school also unveiled an agreement with the University of Toronto that would allow foreign students to continue their Harvard studies in Canada if Trump's visa restrictions affected their ability to attend classes. Critics have described Trump's actions as an effort to pressure schools into greater conformity with the political views and priorities of the White House. One particular flashpoint for the Trump administration has been efforts to promote diversity in university hiring and enrolment. Proponents say those initiatives help counter the legacy of discrimination in higher education, but the Trump administration has said they are a form of discrimination themselves. In a news conference on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not weigh in on the specifics of the UC investigation, but reaffirmed Trump's commitment to dismantling diversity initiatives. 'It's the position of this president that we want to restore a merit-based society and culture in the United States of America where people are not hired, nor are they promoted, based on the colour of their skin or their gender,' she said. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order ending 'diversity, equity and inclusion' (DEI) programming in the federal government. He called those programmes a source of 'immense public waste and shameful discrimination'. But critics have argued that Trump's efforts have served as their own form of discrimination, violating the constitutional rights of those he disagrees with. The government, for instance, has sought to deport several foreign students who took part in pro-Palestine activities on college campuses, raising free speech questions. They include a Turkish graduate student named Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested by immigration agents for co-authoring an article in the school newspaper calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Justice Department Investigates Hiring by University of California
The US Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the schools in the 10-campus University of California system are violating federal law through discriminatory hiring practices. The probe, announced Thursday by the department's civil rights division, is the latest move by the Trump administration to challenge high-profile college campuses across the country over their practices.
Fox News
09-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Johnson & Johnson denies engaging in illegal DEI practices after group makes civil rights complaint
Johnson & Johnson is denying any wrongdoing after being accused of violating federal law and a Trump executive order with DEI hiring practices, according to an investigation request submitted by America First Legal (AFL). "Johnson & Johnson has always been and will continue to be compliant with all applicable laws and has never engaged in any "illegal DEI,'" a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital. AFL is accusing Johnson & Johnson of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal government's Equal Opportunity Clause by engaging in what they claim is unlawful hiring and employment practices that they have openly promoted in past disclosures. The conservative legal watchdog is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to launch an investigation into the drugmaker, claiming the company's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion violates federal law and affects every aspect of the business. "[Johnson & Johnson's] public representations regarding the role of 'equity' in its employment practices reveal that it systematically and intentionally ignores its compliance obligations and instead violates [their] equal opportunity assurances to the federal government," AFL wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. According to Johnson & Johnson's 2023 Health for Humanity Report, the company sought to have 50% of its management positions held by women and 6.8% of management slots held by Black and African American employees by 2025 as part of its "aspirational goals." The report pointed to its progress in achieving 49% women representation and 6.5% Black and African American representation in management slots as of 2023. "The Company's disregard for American civil rights is brazen. It boasts about 'creating equity across our systems and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion,'" the AFL complaint said. A LinkedIn business post entitled "How Johnson & Johnson is building a diverse talent pipeline" claimed that the pharmaceutical giant uses data to monitor its talent goals and holds leaders in the company accountable to them. The article claims the diversity of the talent pool they are recruiting from is tracked as part of this data. "One of the measures we are starting to look at is, not just the readiness of the pipeline… but what does the diversity of that mix look like? In order to provide a score or an assessment of the strength of the pipeline," Johnson & Johnson executive Sarah McKensey said in a video interview that accompanied the article. The article said the purpose of providing such an assessment on the talent pipeline was to ensure that diversity becomes "a natural feature of the hiring landscape" and said the company also holds external recruiters accountable for the diversity of their talent pool. Johnson & Johnson's 2023 DEI Impact Report stated that its leaders are responsible for developing "diverse and inclusive teams" and its 2023 health and humanity report detailed how the company would partner with women's professional associations in order to achieve "parity" in management. Johnson & Johnson had 3,719 contracts in 2024 with the departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and other agencies, according to with $11.6 billion in potential total value. Upon taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning federal agencies from doing business with companies that engage in discriminatory DEI practices. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that "An unlawful employment or other hiring practice exists when race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is a motivating factor for any employment decision." Federal regulations state that federal agencies can cut off contracts from outfits that are not in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. The AFL claims the Biden administration shirked its responsibility to investigate whether companies in the medical space were in violation of the civil rights act, and is urging the Trump administration to act now. The company appears to have removed most of its DEI-related content from its public-facing website since Trump took office. The company's former DEI policy landing page, which once stated, "Johnson & Johnson and all its operating companies are committed to workforce diversity, creating equity across our systems, and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion," now redirects to a more general appendix of ESG policies. The 2023 DEI impact report and the 2023 Health for Humanity report also redirect to the inclusion page. Another DEI landing page has been deleted and replaced with a more tepid "inclusion" page. However, AFL contends that the drugmaker is merely trying to conceal its ongoing DEI violations, and demands a federal investigation to uncover whether it is in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. "Until very recently, Johnson & Johnson proudly touted DEI policies on its website that AFL believes plainly violated the Civil Rights Act. Institutions across corporate America and academia are now taking steps to rebrand or conceal their unlawful DEI policies in order to evade detection and continue their discriminatory must investigate to determine whether Johnson & Johnson is still engaging in illegal discrimination and violating the Civil Rights Act," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News
29-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Chicago alderman slams mayor's hiring practices as 'giant leap in the wrong direction' amid DOJ probe
Print Close By Adam Sabes Published May 29, 2025 A Chicago alderman says the city is taking a "giant leap in the wrong direction" after the Department of Justice announced it is investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson's hiring practices. During a May 18 service at the Apostolic Church of God, Johnson responded to people who claimed he only talked about hiring Black people. "No, what I'm saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet," he said. "I'm laying that out because when you ask, 'How do we ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business,' having people in my administration that will look out for the interests of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks." Johnson mentioned top officials who serve in his administration and emphasized their race. One example included his deputy mayor of business and economic development, a Black woman. DOJ LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO BLUE STATE CITY OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED HIRING After his remarks, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, notified Johnson his administration is being investigated to see if it utilizes discriminatory hiring practices. Read the letter here "Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above. If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions," Dhillon said. Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez told Fox News Digital he's glad the DOJ is looking into the Johnson administration's hiring practices, saying he thinks many Chicagoans have the same concern. CHICAGO'S MAYOR JOHNSON IS SO FOCUSED ON RACE HE CAN'T SEE THE TRUTH ABOUT HUMANITY "I am glad that they are looking into it. I think it validates the concerns that many Chicagoans have had that Brandon Johnson is a mayor, not for the entire city, but for only one demographic," Lopez said. "There are tens of thousands of individuals who work for the city of Chicago who feel as though they have been left out of promotions, left out of advancement or even left out from being hired as a whole even on the front line. And I think that needs to be looked into by the Department of Justice." Lopez said he thinks the city is taking steps in the wrong direction in the way it hires. "This is just one sad step backwards for the City of Chicago to have the mayor articulate so passionately that he prefers to hire one ethnic demographic at the expense of all others. It doesn't make sense to me how, in the 21st century, we've done so much to try to move beyond seeing each other just solely based on race, that we are now taking a giant leap in the wrong direction," he said. The alderman said there are Black Chicago residents he talks to who disagree with Johnson when it comes to hiring decisions. "Let me be 100%, 110% clear on this note. There are African Americans who don't like that statement either. There are many well-qualified leaders of departments who put blood, sweat and tears into lifting up Chicago, who now have been trivialized by his comments and are viewed through a lens of they're just here because they're Black," Lopez added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In comments made after the DOJ launched its investigation, Johnson said it came from a place of fear. "You can tell when someone is fearful is because they act out," Johnson said. "We have a president that is screaming and having tantrums right now because we have an administration that reflects the city of Chicago, but he would much rather have administrations that reflect the country club. Period." Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for comment. Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report. Print Close URL
