#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
Real World Impact: In light of recent government actions directed at ensuring educational institutions protect their faculty and staff, as well as students, from antisemitism, such employers should ensure they are familiar...more
It was another big week for the Department of Education, with President Trump signing an Executive Order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take actions to “close” the Department. President Trump’s...more
On March 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of the U.S. District Court’s preliminary injunction, which will allow the Trump administration to continue enforcing the Executive Orders (EOs) related to...more
On March 5, Do No Harm filed a lawsuit against the American Chemical Society (ACS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, challenging a scholarship program for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in...more
Anti-discrimination statutes protect against "deliberate indifference" to conditions establishing a hostile environment of antisemitic violence and harassment. But those statutes cannot be used to censor legitimate speech...more
A federal civil rights agency just announced that it will be investigating more than 50 higher ed institutions to determine whether they violated federal law by making race-based decisions in their graduate and scholarship...more
The US Department of Education (ED) recently announced two separate groups of enforcement investigations to assess university compliance with civil rights obligations. The first, announced on March 10, includes 60 colleges...more
An ATIXA Testimonial by Alexis Piñero-Benson, University of New Hampshire Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel and the ongoing geopolitical conflict, many colleges and universities witnessed a surge of...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (the “Department”) announced that it has initiated two sets of investigations against dozens of universities for alleged violations of Title VI....more
On March 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had initiated four investigations into unnamed medical schools and hospitals over allegations that the...more
Many K-12 and institutes of higher education are concerned about the potential threat to their federal funding given recent changes to the way the government is interpreting existing federal law to achieve certain policy...more
On March 5, 2025, the National Education Association (NEA) and its New Hampshire affiliate (NEA-NH) sued the U.S. Department of Education, challenging a recently issued “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) that informed schools that...more
Despite the issuance of a sweeping national federal court injunction against President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 and January 21, 2025 Executive Orders that seek to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”)...more
On March 7, 2025, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it would begin investigating four medical schools and hospitals pursuant to President Donald Trump’s...more
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) dispatched letters to 60 colleges and universities warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the...more
The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters, as well as Littler’s published in-depth analyses of the prior week....more
On March 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document in connection with the February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). This document aims to clarify how...more
On Monday, March 3, Linda McMahon was confirmed by the Senate to serve as President Trump’s Secretary of the Department of Education by a vote of 51 to 45. Since President Trump’s inauguration, even without a confirmed...more
After giving educational institutions two weeks to comply with the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), on February 28, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued Frequently Asked Questions About Racial...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
If nothing else, the early days of the Trump administration 2.0 have been a whirlwind of legal activity. Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have of course been at the forefront and on February 14, 2025 the federal...more
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) directing educational institutions that they are prohibited from using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring,...more
On Friday, February 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter advising federally funded schools that it considers any decisions or benefits based on race,...more
Starting today, the U.S. Department of Education will crack down on “overt and covert racial discrimination” in educational institutions receiving federal funding, according to a February 14 “Dear Colleague” letter issued by...more
Overview of the Dear Colleague Letter On February 14, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED or the Department) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) regarding the nondiscrimination...more