Iowa joins multistate warning against DEI hiring practices

Iowa has joined four other red states in sending a warning to America's largest law firms: Stop using race-based hiring for employees and contractors or "you will be held accountable."

Brenna Bird of Iowa is among five Republican attorneys general to sign off on a nine-page letter to the 100 largest law firms in the United States, known as the "Am Law 100." The letter warns executives of the firms that they must "refrain from discriminating on the basis of race, whether under the label of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' or otherwise."

"Differential treatment based on race is not only divisive but illegal … We expect our attorneys to follow the law like everyone else," Bird wrote in a Tuesday social media post.

The letter cites a June U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action admissions policies used by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina.

Led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Bird and attorneys general from Arkansas, Kansas and Kentucky argue that the decision extends to private employers.

Their letter raises concerns with diversity programs at law firms, such as requiring diverse candidates when hiring for leadership roles, setting goals for the percentage of employees from underrepresented groups, or sponsoring fellowship programs based on race.

They also criticize diversity training that assigns "fault, blame or bias" to members of a race, or that discusses implicit racism or bias because of race.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is in a heated race for governor against incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear, dismissed race-based hiring practices as "identity politics" and said at a Wednesday campaign stop, “Kentucky should be a place where everyone can succeed, not just those who were born on third base to check a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) box.”

Federal law prohibits employers from considering race and other protected characteristics in employment decisions.

However, employers may use diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to make their workforces less homogeneous and their workplaces more inclusive by casting a wide net for qualified workers from different backgrounds, according to Andrew Turnbull, a labor and employment partner at law firm Morrison & Foerster.

Bird, Cameron and 11 other attorneys general sent a similar letter to Fortune 100 CEOs in July, demanding that they discontinue "unlawful race-based quotas or preferences" in hiring or contracting.

Both letters end with the same phrase: "If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable — sooner rather than later — for your decision to continue treating people differently because of the color of their skin."

American colleges and companies put a renewed focus on DEI programs after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the widespread protests that followed.

Positions in the U.S. dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion have quadrupled in the past five years, according to a November 2022 report from the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. It found that the rate of new chief diversity officer hires in 2021 was nearly triple the rate 16 months previously, before Floyd's death.

But the DEI programs have been met with backlash from Republican leaders and lawmakers.

Several red states banned DEI offices from publicly funded universities. Under legislative scrutiny, Iowa's three public universities halted any new spending on their DEI initiatives while the Board of Regents conducts a "comprehensive study and review."

Corporate DEI may be next on the conservative chopping block.

Edward Blum, the anti-affirmative action activist who brought the Supreme Court cases against Harvard and UNC, filed a new lawsuit against a Georgia venture capital firm with a grant program for Black women entrepreneurs. Blum argues the program excludes people based on their race.

USA Today contributed reporting.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.