Affirmative Action Decision Impacts Employers

A client alert written by Andrew Turnbull, Carrie Cohen, and Michael Schulman was quoted in EHS Today's coverage of the Supreme Court decision striking down the use of affirmative action in the higher education application process, which could lead to challenges for corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

"While the decision does not directly affect workplace DEI programs and affirmative action plans, employers can expect to see a potential increase in legal challenges to their DEI programs based on It sometime in the future," the authors wrote.

They added: "Employers should review their DEI and affirmative action initiatives and consider how and if to revise those programs in light of the potential implications of the court's decision. There may be heightened scrutiny of business efforts on multiple fronts, and questions from employees and stakeholders about what these rulings mean for their business."