DOJ Investigates austin’s Racial Equity Policies for Potential Discrimination
Teh U.S. department โof Justice (DOJ) has โlaunched aโค civil rights inquiry into the City of Austin‘s employment practices, focusing on whether recentโข policies designed to promote racial equity violate federal law. The investigation, authorized under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act โขof โข1964, centers on concerns that the city’s initiatives may lead to discrimination against job applicants, current employees,โ andโ participants in city-sponsored trainingโข programs.
The DOJ’s scrutiny โคstems from directives issued by the city’s Office โฃof Equity, which aimed to integrate a “racial equity lens” across all Cityโค departments. These directives includedโข instructions for โmanagers to establish racial equity expectations during hiringโ processes, prioritize โฃracial equity criteria in executive searches, and collect employee demographic data to identify and address โขdisparities. โคThe office โalso promoted the use of “racial equity tools” to influence โฃpolicy, program, โคand budgetโข decisions.
According to the โคDOJ, these measures raise legal questions regarding potential discriminatory practices. While officials emphasize that โthe โinvestigation is preliminary and no conclusions have โbeen reached, the probe signals a significant challenge to Austin’s efforts toโข proactively address systemic racial inequities.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Sell is leadingโฃ the investigation.
The City of Austin maintains it’s โcompliance with federal law. A cityโฃ spokesman told Texas scorecard, “We are confident that theโ City is inโ full โคcompliance withโข the โlaw.”
