The New York Times is being sued by a federal agency in the United States on the grounds that “the newspaper violated the law by excluding a white employee from a promotion,” as reported by The Washington Post.
“No one is above the law, not even elite institutions,” commented Andrea Lucas, president of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), who emphasized that “any discrimination based on gender or race is illegal according to civil rights principles.”
The New York Times is being sued under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and accused of discriminating against a white employee because of their skin color. The EEOC explains that “the emphasis placed by the Times on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which the Trump administration sought to eliminate, is at issue,” reports The Washington Post.
Context: The New York Times is facing legal action for allegedly discriminating against a white employee in a promotion process.
Fact Check: Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Attack on Inclusion Policies
This lawsuit stems from a “sharp escalation of the investigation launched last year following a complaint filed by an employee with the EEOC in New York,” according to The New York Times. The complainant “had been working at the newspaper since 2014 and applied, in 2025, for the position of deputy editor in charge of real estate.”
The newspaper’s spokesperson, Danielle Rhoades Ha, “strongly rejects the politically motivated accusations made by the EEOC.” She adds: “Our employment practices are based on merit and aim to recruit and promote the best talents worldwide.”
The complaint mentions the newspaper’s DEI programs, “notably a ‘call to action’ launched in 2021 which aimed to increase the number of black and Latino employees,” adds the left-leaning media outlet.
The accusation highlights that the “final list of candidates included ‘a white woman, a black man, an Asian woman, and a mixed-race woman,’ and that the man claiming discrimination ‘was more qualified than the person who ultimately got the job.'”
Andrea Lucas, president of the Commission for Equal Employment Opportunity, in Washington, on January 20, 2026.
The EEOC is a federal agency originally tasked with enforcing civil rights in the workplace. However, its Republican chairwoman, Andrea Lucas, appointed by Donald Trump, “has redirected it to be an executive tool of the president’s program,” seeking to challenge all DEI policies in companies, which “she deems discriminatory against white men.”
