Following the Supreme Court ruling against affirmative-action programs, 13 state attorneys general sent a letter to all Fortune 100 companies to put them on notice that racial discrimination is not only wrong but illegal.
The AGs’ rationale is simple: Discrimination on the basis of skin color is habitual among America’s largest companies, but under both state and federal law, it is also illegal.
For example, the attorneys general cite reports demonstrating that “racial quotas and other explicitly race-based practices in recruitment, hiring, promotion, and/or contracting” have been adopted by banks, consulting firms, and tech companies on and off the Fortune 100 list, including “Airbnb, Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel, Lyft, Microsoft, Netflix, Paypal, Snapchat, TikTok, Uber, and others.”
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach told The Federalist that the Supreme Court’s recent Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision “precipitated the letter,” as the court made clear that “race-based admissions” and “so-called benign explanations for discriminating” violate the law. But the attorneys general also cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in the workplace; 42 U.S.C. § 1981, which bans such discrimination in contracting; and numerous other court decisions.
“We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices,” wrote the attorneys general, led by Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti and Kobach. “If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable—sooner rather than later—for your decision to continue treating
