Planned Parenthood of Illinois to Pay $500,000 to End EEOC DEI-Related Race Discrimination Investigation

CHICAGO – Planned Parenthood of Illinois (Planned Parenthood) violated federal law when they segregated employees by race, subjected white employees to harassment, and engaged in disparate treatment against white employees regarding terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found as part of a class investigation into charges brought by multiple Planned Parenthood employees.

According to the EEOC’s reasonable cause findings, Planned Parenthood had mandatory “affinity caucuses” that were segregated by race, in which employees of other races were not allowed to participate. In addition to racially harassing statements made by a Planned Parenthood manager, Planned Parenthood demanded that all employees attend DEI-related training sessions which involved repeated harassing and derogatory statements targeting white employees, including that they “are White and do not feel racism the same way non-White patients feel,” and that “white supremacy is exerted at every level of oppression (individual, interpersonal, organizational, and societal).” On a weekly basis, staff were required to attend one to two hour sessions of either the segregated racial affinity caucuses or DEI training. Planned Parenthood also denied white employees access to time off that it granted only to black employees.

“Segregating employees by race violates the core promise of our nation’s civil rights laws,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “Title VII guarantees equal treatment for every employee and prohibits race discrimination in America’s workplaces. Those protections equally apply to white workers. There is no DEI exception to Title VII’s requirements. Employers who deliberately separate workers or subject them to harassment because of their race, including white employees, violate federal law. The Commission will continue to enforce these protections to ensure equal opportunity for all.”

The alleged conduct violated the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits race discrimination. The EEOC reached an agreement with Planned Parenthood through its administrative conciliation process after conducting an investigation and finding reasonable cause to believe Planned Parenthood engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment against white employees.

The EEOC is pleased that Planned Parenthood took action to remove the manager responsible for the misconduct uncovered by the investigation. Employers have a responsibility to ensure compliance with Title VII and provide equal opportunity to all employees, regardless of race. Actions taken in the context of DEI programming do not shield employers from liability if these actions involve unlawful racial harassment or disparate treatment.

For more information on race discrimination and DEI-related discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-dei-related-discrimination-work.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.