The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is withdrawing its subpoena enforcement action against Nike, stating that the company has provided the necessary information in an investigation into its diversity and inclusion policies. The agency filed a motion to dismiss the case in Missouri federal court on Wednesday, approximately seven months after it initially sought a court order compelling Nike to comply with the subpoena.
According to the EEOC's court filing, Nike provided "information and documents responsive to the subpoena" between March and August, resolving the matter without further judicial intervention. An EEOC spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the company's compliance without a court order but declined to offer additional details. Nike has not commented on the development.
This investigation is part of a broader initiative by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas targeting corporate diversity and inclusion policies, which the Trump administration has characterized as potentially discriminatory against white men and other groups. The EEOC has also pursued a lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging discrimination against a white editor. In December, Lucas publicly encouraged white men to report instances of racial or sex-based discrimination.
The inquiry into Nike, however, originated from a complaint filed by Lucas herself in May 2024, alleging discrimination against white employees. The charge referenced Nike's public statements on diversity programs, its reported increase in minority leadership representation, and its stated goal of having 35% racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025.
Such EEOC investigations typically remain confidential unless they lead to public actions like fines, settlements, or lawsuits. The subpoena sought extensive data from Nike concerning employment decisions over several years, including criteria for layoffs, the tracking and use of worker race and ethnicity data, and details on mentorship and career development programs that allegedly offered race-restricted opportunities.
In February, Nike had described the EEOC's court action as an "unusual escalation," noting that it had already supplied thousands of pages of documents and was in the process of providing more. The company had also argued in court filings that many of the EEOC's requests were overly broad and constituted a "fishing expedition."