00:00Nike is facing a major escalation from the federal government as the Equal Employment
00:08Opportunity Commission moves to force the company to turn over years of employment data
00:13over allegations it discriminated against workers who are white. The EEOC has filed a
00:19subpoena enforcement action in federal court saying Nike may have engaged in a pattern or
00:24practice of race-based disparate treatment including in hiring, promotions, layoffs, internships
00:30and leadership development programs. The agency is demanding records going back to 2018 including
00:37how Nike tracks race and ethnicity, how it selected employees for layoffs and details about 16 mentorship
00:44and career programs the EEOC says may have been race restricted. Nike is pushing back. It calls the
00:51move surprising and an unusual escalation in a statement to Straight Arrow News and says it has
00:57already provided thousands of documents and participated in the investigation in good faith.
01:03The investigation is being driven by the EEOC's new chair, Andrea Lucas, appointed by President Trump
01:09who has made DEI programs a top target. In a statement she said, thanks to President Trump's
01:15commitment to enforcing our nation's civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on
01:21even-handed enforcement of Title VII. Lucas has been explicit about that shift, even posting on
01:28X back in December encouraging white male workers to file discrimination claims. For now, this is an
01:34investigation, not a lawsuit, but the EEOC is asking a judge to compel compliance. If the court sides
01:41with the agency, it could open the door to similar probes across corporate America.
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