The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released guidance Wednesday “to ensure that recipients of federal funding do not engage in unlawful discrimination.” The guidance aims to show that federal antidiscrimination laws equally apply to programs containing ideology related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“One of our Nation’s bedrock principles is that all Americans must be treated equally. Not only is discrimination based on protected characteristics illegal under federal law, but it is also dangerous, demeaning, and immoral,” the DOJ stated in the introduction of its guidance. “Yet in recent years, the federal government has turned a blind eye toward, or even encouraged, various discriminatory practices, seemingly because of their purportedly benign labels, objectives, or intentions. No longer. Going forward, the federal government will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in discrimination.”
The DOJ states these unlawful discriminatory practices occur when “a federally funded entity intentionally uses ostensibly neutral criteria that function as substitutes for explicit consideration of race, sex, or other protected characteristics.” Among the “unlawful” DEI practices targeted by the DOJ are race and sex-based hiring policies, training sessions, segregation in facilities, and other forms of segregation.
“This Department of Justice will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in illegal discrimination,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a DOJ press release about the guidance. “This guidance will ensure we are serving the American people and not ideological agendas.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon echoed Bondi’s sentiment.
“The federal government must ensure that taxpayer money is used lawfully and for the public good,” Dhillon said. “The very foundation of our anti-discrimination laws rests on the principle that every American deserves equal opportunity, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics.”
