Corporate Regulation and Litigation

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has confirmed it is formally investigating Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through aspects of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and has asked a federal judge in Missouri to force the company to fully comply with a subpoena. In a motion filed Wednesday, the EEOC says Nike has not produced all requested records on how it used race and ethnicity data in layoffs and whether it ran race‑restricted mentoring, leadership or career‑development programs, even after providing 'thousands of pages' of material. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas initiated the case herself via a rarely used 'commissioner’s charge' in May 2024 after reviewing Nike’s own public diversity statements, following up on a complaint letter from America First Legal, the conservative group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. Nike, which calls the subpoena a 'surprising and unusual escalation,' insists it has cooperated and is continuing to turn over information. The case positions one of the nation’s top civil‑rights enforcement agencies against one of its highest‑profile corporate targets yet over DEI, signaling a broader Trump‑era push to recast certain diversity initiatives as potential unlawful race discrimination under federal law.