Nike is dealing with scrutiny from the Trump administration over claims that it discriminated towards white staff. The Equal Employment Alternative Fee (EEOC) is the federal company that enforces legal guidelines towards employment discrimination.
The EEOC below the Trump administration on Wednesday filed a court docket movement to compel Nike to supply information courting again to 2018, after claiming that Nike had not supplied enough data for the federal company to hold out its investigation, which started in 2024.
Case towards Nike
The case towards Nike stems from a 2024 cost sought by present EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, who was then a Republican commissioner with the company. Lucas has lengthy criticised variety and inclusion insurance policies, terming them doubtlessly discriminatory, AP reported.
The disclosure towards Nike comes almost two months after Lucas shared a media put up, urging white males to return ahead if they’ve ever skilled race or intercourse discrimination at work. Lucas’s put up additionally requested eligible staff to succeed in out to the federal company.
EEOC’s court docket submitting
In response to the EEOC’s court docket submitting, the company is investigating systemic allegations of Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion (DEI)- associated intentional race discrimination. It alleges that Nike might have engaged in a sample or apply of disparate remedy towards its white workers, candidates, and coaching programme members in hiring, promotion, demotion or separation choices, together with choice for layoffs; internship programmes; and mentoring, management improvement, and different profession improvement programmes.
It additional stated that when the attire and sportswear big failed to supply all the data sought by the subpoena, the company filed an enforcement motion in court docket.
The probe focuses on whether or not Nike violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It focuses particularly on the sneaker producer’s purpose of boosting the illustration of racial and ethnic minorities by 2025 to at the least 30 per cent of U.S. workers on the director stage and above, and to at the least 35 per cent of its whole U.S. company workforce.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from utilizing race as a criterion for hiring or making different employment choices.
The case towards Nike is the EEOC’s first since Trump took workplace in January 2025, and because the graduation of his second time period, he attacked variety initiatives, stating that they quantity to “reverse discrimination.”
In response to Bloombergciting Nike’s information to the EEOC, between 2020 and 2021, the sportswear and attire big skilled probably the most noticeable shift in its hiring of non-White staff among the many largest firms.
Nike’s response
Calling the enquiry a “stunning and strange escalation”, Nike rebutted the claims, saying it was “dedicated to honest and lawful employment practices.” In an announcement, the corporate stated, “We imagine our applications and practices are in line with these obligations and take these issues significantly. We are going to proceed our try and cooperate with the EEOC and can reply to the petition.”
Elaborating additional, the sportswear big stated it shared over 1000’s of pages of knowledge, together with detailed written responses to the federal company’s inquiry, and added that it’s within the technique of giving further data.
Different firms focused by the EEOC
Nike seems to be the highest-profile firm that the company has focused with a publicly confirmed investigation. Nevertheless, in November 2025, it issued an analogous subpoena towards monetary companies supplier Northwestern Mutual.
Trump administration’s stance on DEI
Days after taking workplace, Trump signed government orders that aimed to finish DEI applications inside the federal authorities. Throughout his inauguration speech on 20 January, Trump stated his administration will “forge a society that’s colorblind and merit-based.” He additionally revoked the 1965 order, which mandated equal employment alternatives for all.