The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the New York Times on Tuesday, accusing the paper of violating federal discrimination laws for passing over a white male employee for a promotion.
The agency accused the paper of opting not to hire an unnamed man — a senior staff editor on the Times’ international desk — for a Deputy Real Estate Editor position and claimed that every final-round candidate was not a white man.
“No one is above the law — including ‘elite’ institutions,” EEOC chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement. “There is no such thing as ‘reverse discrimination’; all race or sex discrimination is equally unlawful, according to long-established civil rights principles.”
Times spokesperson Danielle Rhodes Ha said in a statement the paper rejected the “politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration’s EEOC.”
“Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world,” she said. “We will defend ourselves vigorously.”
The 17-page lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accused Times staffers in charge of the hiring process of passing the staffer over for a final interview in favor of other candidates who matched the company’s ideal diversity profile, even if they didn’t meet the job qualifications.
The lawsuit pointed to the Times’ desire to increase the number of its Black and Latino employees by 50% by 2025, as stated in its diversity and inclusion reports, as a contributor to the decision. The final candidate pool was comprised of a white woman, a Black man, an Asian woman and a “multiracial” woman.
“NYT’s desire to increase the percentage of non-White or female candidates in leadership positions influenced the selection of final candidates for the Deputy Real Estate Editor position,” the lawsuit claimed.
The multiracial woman was picked, the lawsuit claimed, despite having no experience with real estate journalism and being one of the two lowest-rated candidates of the final four.
Rhodes Ha pushed back on the claims in her statement, claiming the agency “deviated from standard practices” in its investigation “in highly unusual ways.”
“The allegation centers on a single personnel decision for one of over 100 deputy positions across the newsroom, yet the EEOC’s filing makes sweeping claims that ignore the facts to fit a predetermined narrative,” she said in her statement. “Neither race nor gender played a role in this decision – we hired the most qualified candidate, and she is an excellent editor.”
While the paper would maintain its commitment to diversity among its staff ranks, she said, the Times also had “a commitment to a fair and legal hiring process that does not discriminate against anyone.”
The Trump administration has made extinguishing diversity, equity and inclusion practices a focal point of its agenda, and it has leveraged federal powers to do so. The Federal Communications Commission last week demanded eight ABC local stations file for an early review of their broadcast licenses over an investigation into diversity practices, and it has investigated other companies for such practices.
