The EEOC, under Chair Andrea Lucas, has launched federal inquiries into corporate DEI programs and warned it may pursue enforcement or litigation when race, sex or other protected traits influence workplace decisions under Title VII. Lucas said probes will intensify in 2026 and the agency will use tools like expanded web-archive searches to scrutinize companies that alter DEI messaging. The shift aligns the EEOC with conservative priorities and has already prompted some large firms to scale back DEI efforts amid legal and political debate.
EEOC Chair Signals Major Crackdown on Corporate DEI Programs Ahead of 2026
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas poses for a portrait in her office in Washington, D.C.,U.S., December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
WASHINGTON — The head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told Reuters that federal probes into corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are already underway and will intensify in 2026, marking a sharp shift in civil-rights enforcement under President Donald Trump.
EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said employers that consider race, sex or other protected characteristics in hiring, promotion or related workplace decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act could face enforcement actions or litigation. She confirmed inquiries are in progress but declined to identify which companies are being reviewed.
"My goal is to shift to a conservative view of civil rights," Lucas said in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters, outlining an enforcement agenda that prioritizes scrutiny of programs that make distinctions by race or sex.
A New Direction for the EEOC
Lucas described a broad mandate that will target what she called race-based initiatives — including certain DEI programs — while also addressing religious-liberty concerns such as antisemitism and COVID-19 vaccine mandates, pushing back on gender-identity policies where they conflict with sex-based protections, and enforcing national-origin nondiscrimination.
"If you have a DEI program or any employee program that involves taking an action in whole or in part motivated by race or sex or any other protected characteristic, that's unlawful," she said.
"It doesn't matter if you call that DEI or belonging or 'EO' or anything: If it functions like that, it's illegal," Lucas added.
What Companies Could Face
Lucas warned the EEOC may review a range of company practices — from hiring and promotion rules to marketing, supplier-diversity programs and employee resource groups designed as safe spaces. She said the agency will use expanded tools in 2026, including deeper web-archive searches, to identify companies that may have changed public language about DEI without altering underlying practices.
The agency’s stance follows a series of executive orders earlier this year that targeted DEI initiatives and led several large companies, including Target, Walmart and Amazon, to reassess or scale back certain programs. Some firms removed DEI language from policies and recruitment materials, dissolved employee resource groups, or curtailed supplier-diversity efforts.
Legal Hurdles and Pushback
Former EEOC officials told Reuters the agency generally must show a pattern or practice of discrimination to bring enforcement actions — a demanding legal standard in court. A group of ex-officials, including former Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum, previously argued that properly designed efforts to identify and remove barriers affecting protected groups can be lawful under Title VII.
The EEOC now has a 2-1 Republican majority after Lucas was designated chair by President Trump and the Senate confirmed Republican Brittany Panuccio; Kalpana Kotagal is the lone Democrat on the three-member commission. Lucas’s approach is likely to provoke pushback from civil-rights advocates and Democrats who argue DEI policies remain essential to addressing longstanding structural inequities.
Looking Ahead
Lucas said the agency will evaluate in the coming year whether companies' adjustments cross the threshold for broad or rapid enforcement, noting some programs could involve "potentially thousands of people" or be "very blatant" instances of race- or sex-based restrictions. The EEOC’s intensified focus is expected to reshape how employers design and communicate diversity and inclusion efforts.
(Reporting by David Hood-Nuño and Bianca Flowers; Editing by Kat Stafford)
