WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, America First Legal (AFL) filed a formal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an immediate investigation into Henry Ford Health’s (HFH) systemic violations of federal nondiscrimination law. The complaint outlines a sweeping pattern of race- and sex-based discrimination embedded across HFH’s clinical operations, medical training programs, employment practices, and patient services, driven and sustained by nearly $1 billion in federal grants focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) awarded since 2021.
HFH is a Detroit-based hospital system that receives substantial federal financial assistance through HHS and has implemented race and identity-based preferences throughout its operations under the pretext of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” These policies violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and Executive Order 14173, which require all federal agencies to eliminate unlawful discrimination and restore merit-based opportunity.
The complaint documents HFH’s unlawful conduct in detail, including:
- Race-based organ transplant prioritization under the Biden Administration’s Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) model and its own DEI policies that subordinate clinical need to equity benchmarks tied to federal funding.
- Hiring and promotion quotas tied to race- and sex-based targets, enforced by an internal “Executive Diversity Recruitment Committee” empowered to block hires of white male candidates and promotions of senior-level leadership who do not meet DEI benchmarks.
- Residency and clerkship programs that restrict eligibility to applicants based on race, sexual orientation, and gender identity — categorically excluding highly qualified candidates from federally funded opportunities based on immutable traits.
- Supplier diversity and procurement practices that prioritize contracting with vendors based on race.
Although HFH has recently removed or revised some of its DEI-related content from public webpages, internal job postings, grant records, and public statements confirm that these discriminatory policies remain active and deeply institutionalized across its health system.
“Federal law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin. It does not carve out exceptions for discrimination to further trendy bureaucratic slogans like ‘health equity’ or ‘social determinants of health,’” said Megan Redshaw, an attorney for America First Legal.
“Henry Ford’s DEI policies are textbook violations of Title VI — and taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize them. Americans deserve to know that life-and-death decisions, job opportunities, and medical education are based on merit, not identity politics.”
AFL’s complaint calls on the HHS Office for Civil Rights to launch a formal investigation into Henry Ford Health and conduct a comprehensive compliance review of all HHS-funded programs and activities under its control, including clinical care models, residency and fellowship programs, hiring and promotion systems, and procurement practices.
AFL further urges OCR to require HFH to suspend all race- and sex-based policies, submit revised policies and internal audits demonstrating compliance with federal law, and impose all available penalties, including suspension or termination of federal funding. Any potentially unlawful conduct outside OCR’s jurisdiction should be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice and the HHS Office of Inspector General.
“Henry Ford Health’s actions exemplify how DEI ideology erodes the foundational principles of equal protection and nondiscrimination. By embedding race, sex, and other identity-based preferences into critical areas such as organ transplantation, hiring practices, and its residency training programs, HFH has prioritized ideological conformity over merit and patient care,” Redshaw said.
“These practices not only violate federal civil rights laws but also compromise the trust placed in our healthcare institutions. The Office for Civil Rights must act decisively to ensure that federal funding does not support discriminatory practices masquerading as equity initiatives.”
Read the complaint here.
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Photo credit: Adobe Stock / / Felippe Lopes
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