Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), eliminating the consideration of an applicant's race for admission, universities across the country have been grappling with how to proceed with diversity efforts to ensure an equal opportunity for students of all backgrounds to have access to a fulfilling educational experience. However, it has now been more than one year since the court's ruling, and it is apparent that the decision has had a ripple effect, extending beyond college campuses and impacting the private-sector workplace.

In the wake of the landmark decision, employers across the country have been dealing with an uptick of litigation targeting workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs. Following the court's logic in Students for Fair Admissions, litigants argue that employers are essentially implementing their own affirmative action policies under the guise of DEI in order to impermissibly use race or ethnicity as a factor in hiring or other employment decisions. In fact, just weeks after the court's decision, attorneys general from 13 states, including Indiana and South Carolina, signed a letter addressed to Fortune 100 CEOs cautioning employers that companies that continue to use race-based preferences in employment decisions and hiring practices "will be held accountable—sooner rather than later—for their decision to continue treating people differently because of the color of their skin."