July 25, 2023
Carson City, NV — Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that he, along with a group of 20 other attorneys general, has sent a letter to the CEOs of Fortune 100 companies assuring them that diversity and inclusion efforts are lawful and protected. The effort, led by AG Ford, comes in response to a separate group of attorneys general attempting to intimidate CEOs by misrepresenting the effects of a recent SCOTUS decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions.
“Recent attempts to intimidate companies into dropping diversity and inclusion efforts are malicious and based on legal falsehoods,” said AG Ford. “These diversity efforts are both important steps toward remediating racial inequalities and useful tools for companies to ensure their workforce is tuned in to the demographics of our country. I want to reassure CEOs and business owners that these efforts are legal and that recent intimidation efforts are based on a misrepresentation of the law.”
In the letter, AG Ford and the other attorneys general point out that diversity and inclusion programs are important to society both socially and economically as they combat inequities and create a diverse workforce that better understands consumers. In addition, the attorneys general point out that the SCOTUS decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College does not bar private employers from implementing DEI initiatives as private companies remain free to expand access to employment and contracting opportunities subject to previously defined limitations.
In the letter, the attorneys general reaffirm their commitment to fight discrimination and oppose campaigns of harassment against those who would seek to intimidate or harass those who would work toward fixing the damage racism has inflicted on our country.
In signing the letter, AG Ford joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico. New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Read the letter sent to the Fortune 100 CEOs.
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