GOP attorneys general urge corporations against using affirmative action to hire, promote

Thirteen Republican attorneys general wrote a letter to leaders of Fortune 100 companies Thursday warning them against using race as a factor in hiring and promotion decisions, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling ending the practice of affirmative action in college admissions. 

In the letter, the chief legal officers of their respective states made clear that the Supreme Court’s decision rendering affirmative action in college admissions unconstitutional created a legal precedent that the attorneys general said must apply to their corporations as well. They threatened legal action if the companies do not comply.

“The Supreme Court’s recent decision should place every employer and contractor on notice of the illegality of racial quotas and race-based preferences in employment and contracting practices,” they wrote in the letter.

“If your company previously resorted to racial preferences or naked quotas to offset its bigotry, that discriminatory path is now definitively closed. Your company must overcome its underlying bias and treat all employees, all applicants, and all contractors equally, without regard for race,” they continued.

The attorneys general claimed racial discrimination was still common among many companies, even discrimination with “benign” effects. The warning suggests that taking into account a person’s race in any way would be a violation of the law and considered racial discrimination.

“We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices,” they wrote. “If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable—sooner rather than later—for your decision to continue treating people differently because of the color of their skin.

The attorneys general of Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana signed the letter. 

In a recent Pew survey, a majority of workers indicated they view diversity at work as a good thing, at 56 percent; 16 percent said it was a bad thing, and 28 percent said it was neither good nor bad. The same survey indicated most workers have some experience with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in their jobs, but a relatively small share of workers place a lot of importance on those efforts, with only 3 in 10 saying it’s extremely or very important to them. 

While the Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action focused solely on university admissions, this letter represents the potential far-reaching effects the decision might still have.