The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has moved to dismiss its subpoena enforcement action against Nike, stating that the company has complied with requests for information as part of an ongoing investigation into the sportswear company's diversity and inclusion policies. The agency filed its motion in Missouri federal court on Wednesday, seven months after initially seeking a court order for Nike to fully comply with the subpoena.
According to the EEOC's court filing, Nike provided "information and documents responsive to the subpoena" between March and August. The agency stated that this compliance leaves "no remaining controversy" for the court to resolve. An EEOC spokesperson confirmed the agency's satisfaction with Nike's cooperation without a court order but declined to offer further details. Nike has not commented on the matter.
This investigation into Nike is part of a broader effort by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, appointed during the Trump administration, to examine corporate diversity and inclusion policies. The administration has previously argued that some such policies discriminate against white men. The EEOC has also pursued legal action against The New York Times, alleging discrimination against a white editor. In December, Lucas publicly encouraged white men to report instances of discrimination based on race or sex.
The EEOC's inquiry into Nike originated not from a worker complaint but from a charge filed by Lucas herself in May 2024. The charge asserted that the company's diversity initiatives, including its stated goal of achieving 35% racial and ethnic minority representation in its corporate workforce by 2025, and its publicly shared data on increasing minority leadership, constituted discrimination against white employees.
The subpoena enforcement action provided a rare glimpse into the typically confidential process of an EEOC investigation into a charge, which usually remains private unless it leads to public actions such as fines, settlements, or lawsuits.
Court documents revealed that the EEOC had sought extensive data from Nike, covering employment decisions over several years. This included information on layoff selection criteria, how worker race and ethnicity data is tracked and utilized, and details on programs offering mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities that were allegedly restricted by race.
Nike had previously characterized the EEOC's court action as a "surprising and unusual escalation" in February. The company stated at the time that it had already provided thousands of pages of information and was in the process of sharing more. Nike's legal team also argued in court filings that many of the EEOC's requests were overly broad and burdensome, describing them as a "fishing expedition" seeking information in the "idle hope that evidence of wrongdoing might be uncovered."