A conservative legal group on Wednesday urged a US anti-discrimination agency to analyze Kellogg Co over workplace diversity policies that it says are illegal, and accused the cereal maker of sexualizing its products.
That is the second grievance filed this week against an organization by America First Legal, a nonprofit run by Stephen Miller, who was an adviser to former President Donald Trump.
America First in a letter to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said Kellogg’s hiring, training and promotion practices are designed to realize a balance based on race and sex that violates the federal law banning workplace bias.
It also criticized marketing campaigns including boxes of Cheez-It crackers featuring drag queen RuPaul and cereal boxes celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month.
“Management has discarded the corporate’s long-held family friendly marketing approach to politicize and sexualize its products,” the group said.
Many legal experts expect an uptick in legal challenges to corporate diversity programs.REUTERS
The EEOC can sue firms if it finds that their employment practices amount to illegal discrimination.
Kellogg didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Many legal experts expect an uptick in legal challenges to corporate diversity programs within the wake of a June US Supreme Court ruling barring race-conscious admissions policies in higher education.
America First within the letter said Kellogg, for instance, has said it desires to have “25% underrepresented talent on the management level” by 2025 and runs fellowship programs which might be only open to racial minorities.
America First said it sent a letter to Kellogg’s board of directors threatening shareholder litigation.REUTERS
“Kellogg’s employment practices are unlawfully based on ‘equity,’ which is a euphemism for illegal discrimination,” Reed Rubenstein, a lawyer with the group, wrote within the letter.
America First said it also had sent a letter to Kellogg’s board of directors on Wednesday threatening shareholder litigation if the corporate maintains the allegedly illegal policies.
The nonprofit on Tuesday sued Goal Corp on behalf of an investor, saying the retailer did not anticipate customer backlash over LGBTQ-themed merchandise that hurt its stock value.
The complaints are a part of a campaign conservative legal groups and Republican legislators are waging against corporations which have enacted so-called woke policies on social issues akin to race, gender and variety.
