By DANIEL WIESSNER Reuters
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The head of the U.S. agency that enforces laws banning workplace discrimination on Monday warned 20 major law firms that their employment policies meant to boost diversity, equity and inclusion may be illegal.

The letters from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, seek detailed information on DEI programs at the firms, some of which have ties to President Donald Trump’s political opponents or have challenged his policies in court.

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Lucas said some of the firms had publicly touted their commitment to diversifying their workforces and at least two had adopted explicit numerical goals for recruiting lawyers based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Lucas said she was concerned that the firms’ policies “may entail unlawful disparate treatment in terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, or unlawful limiting, segregating, and classifying” based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics.

The letters ask the law firms for an array of information about the internships, scholarships and fellowships they offer to law students and their hiring and compensation practices.

Lucas also asked for the name, sex and race of every lawyer who has worked at or applied for a job at the firms since 2019 and whether each one participated in diversity programs or “affinity groups.” She asked for some of the information in a “searchable Excel spreadsheet.”

Some of the firms that received the letters, including Perkins Coie; Hogan Lovells; Ropes &Gray; and WilmerHale, are representing plaintiffs in current lawsuits against the Trump administration.

A spokesperson for Hogan Lovells said the firm had no immediate comment. The other 19 firms that received the letters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lucas said in a statement that “the EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite law firms.”

The EEOC can investigate companies’ employment practices and file lawsuits alleging discrimination, but only after a worker or one of the agency’s five commissioners brings a formal complaint. There was no indication that Lucas had filed complaints against any of the law firms.

Trump, a Republican, has waged an aggressive campaign to eliminate DEI programs from the federal government, higher education and the private sector. He has also taken several actions against high-profile law firms, alarming many legal experts.