#WorkforceWednesday: The Ripple Effect of the Supreme Court’s SFFA Ruling for Diversity in the Workplace - Employment Law This Week®
Business Better Podcast Episode: Is DEI at Risk? Considerations on the US Supreme Court Ruling Against Affirmative Action Programs
On July 29, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued further guidance regarding the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs and initiatives undertaken by recipients of federal funding, in the form of...more
Federal officials on Monday launched a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at schools receiving federal funding, the next step in the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement posture against transgender rights, DEI,...more
Another school year is winding down, and educational leaders perhaps have never been more ready for summer break. From the Trump administration’s significant policy shifts to deeply consequential litigation playing out to...more
Harvard University has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s decision to freeze more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts benefitting Harvard. The funding freeze came after Harvard refused a list...more
Following its February 14, 2025, “Dear Colleague Letter,”outlining DEI programs that could result in a loss of federal funding by February 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (the “Department”)...more
Despite court ruling, educational institutions face continuing enforcement uncertainty pursuant to the February 14 “Dear Colleague Letter” issued by the Department of Education - On February 21, 2025, a federal court in...more
President Trump’s Executive Orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), discussed in previous client alerts with regard to higher education institutions and business more broadly, have prompted responses from...more
Alaska Native Corporations have been legally permitted to preferentially hire their shareholders based on a 1992 amendment to a federal statute enacted in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act – Section 1626(g). In other...more
In the flurry of executive orders issued shortly after being sworn for a second term, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders and one presidential action dismantling all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more
The Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity Executive Order (EO) issued on Jan. 22, 2025, takes aim at diversity, equity and inclusion programs at institutions of higher education. (McGuireWoods’...more
As McGuireWoods explained in previous alerts, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) left open several questions on its impact on higher...more
Employer's DEI mandate scores a win. A white guy refused to take his employer's mandatory "unconscious bias" training, and he was fired. He sued the employer for retaliation, his lawsuit was dismissed, and this week an...more
Following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests against racial inequity in 2020, many companies increased their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as their external...more
Miles & Stockbridge’s Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration Practice Group presented its 22nd annual Hot Topics in Employment Law seminar April 11 to clients from throughout Maryland and beyond....more
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) and prospective applicants continue to grapple with the shifted landscape of admissions practices after the United States Supreme Court's Students for Fair Admissions decision...more
As 2023 ends, despite the visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, it is a good time to take stock of government initiatives affecting your Affirmative Action practice, the better to get ready for 2024. Many things...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that it is illegal to consider race in college admissions decisions. While the decision did not apply to employers, employers should be aware that the decision is being used as a roadmap...more
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard College and the University of North...more
The Legal Landscape - As we reviewed in earlier posts, the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) promised to be a game changer not just...more
Colorado AG Phil Weiser issued a formal legal opinion asserting that workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are not unlawful following a recent Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v....more
Seeing the barrage of lawsuits following the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding the use of race in admissions in higher education has left many in K-12 independent and private schools scratching their...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held the use of race in university and college admissions is unconstitutional in its Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. decisions on June 29, 2023. The Court’s ruling directly addresses only the...more
This week, we’re focused on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) ruling could impact workplace diversity efforts: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) investment has been a strong strategy for...more
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court overturned a decades-old precedent that held race-based affirmative action policies in higher education institutions were constitutional. However, in Students for Fair...more
Colleges and universities can still take steps to foster diverse and inclusive campuses — even after the Supreme Court’s decision severely limiting race-conscious admissions in education, according to the latest guidance from...more