Christopher Smith is a miliary veteran with over 20 years of intelligence and security experience. In 2022, he applied for an intelligence manager role at Ally Financial. Despite being a very qualified candidate, Ally hired him as a lower-level analyst and gave the manager role to a far less experience woman who better fit the company’s race and gender preferences. Smith was repeatedly passed over for advancement in favor of less-qualified candidates who aligned with Ally’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals.

In partnership with Consovoy McCarthy, America First Legal (AFL) filed suit against Ally Financial for unlawful race and sex discrimination, seeking damages and a declaration that it’s DEI-driven employment practices violate federal civil rights law. The case has been settled, sending a clear message that companies cannot ignore merit or federal civil rights laws in pursuit of discriminatory practices.