WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, America First Legal (AFL) received a confirmation from the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that Southwest Airlines Co. has acknowledged and agreed to abandon its unlawful discriminatory employment practices outlined in AFL’s federal civil rights complaint.
On January 17, 2024, AFL filed a complaint against Southwest with the OFCCP, requesting an immediate investigation into the airline for allegedly breaching the company’s contractual obligations under federal contracting law. Despite receiving over $330 million in federal government contracts since 2007, Southwest explicitly promoted illegal “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), violating its equal opportunity agreements.
On December 2, 2024, OFCCP held an informal compliance conference with Southwest Airlines Co. in accordance with 41 C.F.R. §60-1.24(c)(2). In other words, OFCCP’s investigation indicated a violation of the equal opportunity clause, and it sought to resolve the matter by holding a compliance conference with Southwest. Following the compliance conference with OFCCP, Southwest acknowledged and agreed to end its illegal race and sex-based discrimination in all hiring and promotional processes, including all unlawful DEI quotas, benchmarks, or preferences.
Statement from Will Scolinos, America First Legal Counsel:
“On your next flight, would you rather be told that your pilot checks the right DEI boxes or that he was hired because he was the best of all competing candidates? Americans have had enough of corporations’ overt discrimination under the guise of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It is unacceptable that corporations are so openly using everyday Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to meet their unlawful race and sex quotas to achieve some ‘correct’ amount of diversity and representation. Discrimination on the basis of immutable characteristics is always wrong. AFL will continue to fight against discrimination as a substitute for merit in employment decisions—it’s not going to fly,” said Will Scolinos.
Read the letter here.
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