Department of Labor Tells Employees to Report Anyone Prioritizing DEI
Key takeaways
- The email, sent on Friday and viewed by WIRED, felt like it was a “reminder to narc on your coworkers for doing DEI,” says a DOL employee who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
- The email also reminds employees that the statute of limitations for reporting is three years, which would in theory allow employees to report events from before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
- The DOL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Late last week, employees at the Department of Labor received a long email strongly urging them to file whistleblower complaints and report instances of “diversity, equity, and inclusion”-related discrimination or retaliation. In short, employees were told to alert the government of DEI compliance in any way.
The email, sent on Friday and viewed by WIRED, felt like it was a “reminder to narc on your coworkers for doing DEI,” says a DOL employee who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. The notice was titled “Reporting DEI-Related Discrimination, Retaliation, and Related Whistleblower Disclosures” and came from a “DOL Guidance and Information” email account. It was not signed by any particular member of DOL leadership.
“DEI-related discrimination occurs when any employment action (hiring, promotion, training access, mentoring, assignments, awards, etc.) is motivated in whole or in part by an employee’s or applicant’s race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or other protected characteristics,” states the email. Further details about what exactly constitutes “DEI-related discrimination” included “restricting networking events or professional development to specific racial, sex, or ethnic groups”; “awarding recognition, compensation, or opportunities based in part on contribution to ‘diversity goals’ rather than metrics”; and “any preference or disparate treatment justified by ‘diversity’ or ‘equity.’”