Dodgers face federal civil rights complaint over hiring and employment practices

SPECIFIC A federal civil rights complaint has been filed with the U S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the capital firm Guggenheim Partners for allegedly engaging in unlawful discrimination under the guise of diversity equity and inclusion DEI in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of The complaint was filed by America First Legal AFL the nonprofit conservative inhabitants interest organization against both entities which are led by Mark Walter the majority owner of the Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners Walter in the last few days became the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers as well in a historic billion agreement with the Buss family CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COM Their employment practices as described below appear to discriminate against employees or prospective employees solely because of their skin color or sex This is patently unlawful AFL s complaint which was provided to Fox News Digital began AFL s complaint suggests the Dodgers and Guggenheim Partners employment practices are discriminatory because even when using inclusive terminology it is used to segregate or classify employees or applicants for employment in means that would deprive or tend to deprive individuals of employment training or promotions because of their race color sex or national origin The complaint goes on by pointing out how the Dodgers DEI website reads that it is sponsoring programs geared to women and people of color while also embedding Diversity Equity and Inclusion strategies into every aspect of the organization YANKEES STAY COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AMID MLB'S QUIET ROLLBACK OF DEIAFL also took issue with the DEI mission report on the Dodgers site The declaration read Our mission is to create a civilization where diverse voices and experiences are valued our people feel empowered by their connections to each other and the Organization and all employees feel they can succeed Our charge is to direct and track impact establish clear accountabilities reporting standards aspirational goals and measurements of success the AFL stated The AFL argued that the company is using DEI in quantifiable means with identifiable goals to achieve success which appears to entail engaging in unlawful discriminatory hiring training and recruitment The complaint mentioned the Dodgers allowing employees to join multiple Business Supply Groups BRGs within the organization which provides employees a forum to gather with other employees who hold common interests identities and or social issues AFL s complaint also took exception to a few of the BRGs appear to provide material employment benefits to employees based on their race color sex or national origin The complaint mentions the Asian Professionals Black Action Arrangement SOMOS La which appears to provide Latino employees with employment benefits and the Women s Opportunity Architecture Furthermore the complaint requested an probe into Guggenheim Partners which also has a Diversity and Inclusion page stating that DEI plays a role in recruitment professional expansion contracting and more throughout the Firm Guggenheim Partners makes it clear that it defines diversity to explicitly include considering protected class es including in part those based on race gender ethnicity age religion creed national origin sexual orientation and gender identity the complaint reads MLB REMOVES DIVERSITY FROM CAREERS PAGE AMID TRUMP-MANDATED DEI PURGEThe complaint points to Guggenheim Partners commitment to Broadening Pipeline Diversity which states its wish to develop diversity recruiting and talent management strategies to identify attract develop and retain top talent When diversity motivates employment decisions and diversity refers to race color sex and national origin as it does to Guggenheim Partners the impact is unlawful discrimination the complaint reads Guggenheim Partners like the Dodgers also operate Business Advancement Asset Groups BDRGs The BDRGs are open to all employees yet provide employment benefits based upon particular immutable characteristics and are intended to further the firm s DEI goals the complaint reads highlighting the Women s Innovation and Inclusion System and Multicultural Employee Business Infrastructure among them The AFL suggests the EEOC can investigate application details and internal HR policies or practices of the Dodgers and Guggenheim Partners to identify whether the policies make explicit reference to employment preferences based on race color sex and national origin in violation of federal law The Dodgers and Guggenheim Partners did not at once respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital Earlier this year President Donald Trump signed executive orders aimed at rolling back DEI initiatives with one of them including directives for federal agencies to combat DEI in the private sector MLB took a step to comply as they removed diversity references from their website in March Our values on diversity remain unchanged MLB disclosed in a comment at the time We are in the process of evaluating our programs for any modifications to eligibility criteria that are needed to ensure our programs are compliant with federal law as they continue forward The New York Yankees remained committed to pushing diversity and inclusion within its organization despite the national rollbacks of DEI saying in April that they are continually working with the members of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and are actively engaged with our neighbors and group partners per the New York Daily News Our dedication towards these efforts remains unchanged and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee continues to do its work stated senior vice president of corporate and society relations Brian Smith In October the AFL filed a federal civil rights complaint against MLB for racially discriminatory programs alongside the EEOC The complaint claimed MLB s official website presented at least four unlawful employment and contracting programs citing the Diversity Pipeline Operation which commissioner Rob Manfred launched in The General Services Administration GSA publicized changes in February to the Federal Acquisition Regulations FAR meant to align with the president's executive order aimed at restoring meritocracy and ending discrimination in the residents and private sectors Following an owners meeting in Palm Beach Florida in February Manfred commented MLB would be evaluating the interpretation of federal law Our values particularly our values on diversity remain unchanged But another value that is pretty crucial to us is we dependably try to comply with what the law is Manfred explained There seems to be an evolution going on here We re following that very rigorously Obviously when things get a little more settled we ll examine each of our programs and make sure that while the values remain the same that we re also consistent with what the law requires Fox News Jasmine Baehr and Jackson Thompson contributed to this overview Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter