Justice Department opens investigation into UC’s ‘diversity’ hiring scheme

The Justice Department has announced it is investigating the University of California (UC) for alleged Title VII discrimination violations in its hiring practices.

The agency announced Thursday that its Civil Rights Division is looking into the university’s individual campuses regarding potential race- and sex-based discrimination in employment practices.

The university’s “UC 2030 Capacity Plan” directs its campuses to hire “diverse” faculty members to meet race- and sex-based employment quotas, the Justice Department said.

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“These initiatives openly measure new hires by their race and sex, which potentially runs afoul of federal law,” the Justice Department said in a press release. 

“The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether the University of California is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said.

“Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination,” Dhillon said. “Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law.”

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote to the university on Thursday, informing it of the investigation. 

“Our investigation is based on information suggesting that the University of California may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race and sex in violation of Title VII,” the letter reads. 

“Specifically, we have reason to believe the University of California’s ‘UC 2030 Capacity Plan’ precipitated unlawful action by the University of California and some or all its constituent campuses.”

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UC said it will work in good faith with the Justice Department as it conducts its investigation.

“The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws,” a UC statement provided to Fox News Digital reads. “The University also aims to foster a campus environment where everyone is welcomed and supported.”

The university’s UC 2030 Capacity Plan lays out a goal of becoming a national model as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) system. The plan outlines a pipeline strategy to diversify faculty and researchers through expanded graduate enrollment and outreach to institutions that serve underrepresented students. The DOJ, however, claims these initiatives may violate Title VII by functioning as de facto employment quotas.

In March, UC dropped diversity statements from its hiring practices amid President Donald Trump’s threats that schools could lose federal funding. 

The university’s provost, Katherine S. Newman, sent out a letter to the system’s leaders informing them that diversity statements are no longer required for new applicants. Newman wrote that while some programs and departments have required them, the university has never had a policy of diversity statements and believes it could harm applicant evaluation.

“The requirement to submit a diversity statement may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience,” the letter obtained by Fox News Digital reads.

She added that employees and applicants can still reference accomplishments related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on their own, but requiring stand-alone diversity statements is no longer permitted. 

Fox News’ David Spunt and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.