Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Student for Fair Admissions case invalidating the use of affirmative action in college admissions, 13 Republican state attorneys general sent this letter to Fortune 100 CEOs advising them of “serious legal consequences” if they implement or maintain unlawful racial preferences and quotas in their employment and contracting practices (see Gibson Dunn summary here). This was soon followed by a letter from 21 Democratic state AGs to the same companies to disassociate the court’s decision from, and advocate, ongoing corporate diversity initiatives within the confines of applicable laws (see Venable memo here).
As previously reported, these memos from Littler and Morrison Foerster are among numerous resources that discuss the implications of the Court’s decision on corporate DE&I programs and provide guidance to companies on how to mitigate legal risks in a manner consistent with promoting their DE&I objectives.