Requiring 'Equity Mindset' Was Not Reverse Discrimination Against White Employee

Despite the Trump administration’s designation of many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as illegal discrimination, federal courts have largely rejected claims from white employees that mandating participation in such programs constitutes reverse discrimination based on race. Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the plaintiff failed to prove that a state education department’s mandated equity policies treated her differently from other employees based on race.

In Spengler v. Cooperative Educational Service Agency 7, the plaintiff’s agency required that employees in her position adopt an "equity mindset" and examine their own implicit biases against marginalized communities. She objected, claiming that the requirement discriminated against white persons by assuming they were born racist. Following a demotion, she appealed the district court’s dismissal of her race discrimination and First Amendment claims.

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