Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) sent a letter to Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, urging reversal of the company’s decision to retreat from its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies.
The letter to Target comes after the company announced earlier this year that it would be ending many of its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, including those meant to hire, promote, and retain Black employees, women, and other employees of color. Target also ended programs focused on efforts to recruit suppliers from businesses owned by veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and other historically underrepresented groups. LDF expresses concern that this decision may lead Target to unfairly exclude talented workers and permit unwelcoming work environments based on race or other protected characteristics.
The letter reminds Target that federal civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, remain unchanged and still prohibit discrimination in the workplace, including practices that unfairly and disproportionately affect Black employees and applicants. Noting multiples concerns about potential racial bias at Target, LDF also emphasizes that the company risks failing to meet its antidiscrimination obligations due to the absence of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, which may expose it to legal liability.
“Regardless of executive orders from the Trump administration targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and similar attacks from anti-civil rights extremists, Target’s legal obligations under federal civil rights laws have not changed,” said Jin Hee Lee, Director of Strategic Initiatives at LDF. “Decisions to end research-backed policies to remedy discrimination risk entrenching and potentially exacerbating preexisting inequalities faced by Black workers, entrepreneurs, and many other groups who are underrepresented or marginalized regardless of their talent or potential. We urge Target to reverse course and reinstate its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs for the benefit of its workforce, its consumer base, and its bottom line.”
You can read the full letter here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Equal Protection Initiative seeks to defend and advance the proper interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause and anti-discrimination law so that we can all continue to advance equal opportunity for all. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
