On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, holding that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina (UNC)’s admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. While the decision does not directly impact private employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies, employers may wish to examine such programs and policies, in particular policies focusing on candidate pools where a candidate’s race/ethnicity/gender is the primary focus for acceptance, not because the law has changed for private employers but because the scrutiny has been heightened.
Employer Considerations After SCOTUS Rules College Admissions Policies that Consider Race a Factor Unconstitutional
