Settlement ends federal discrimination investigation
Planned Parenthood of Illinois has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve a federal investigation into workplace discrimination against white employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that the organization violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by segregating staff based on race, subjecting white employees to harassment, and denying them equal treatment in employment decisions.
The investigation revealed that Planned Parenthood of Illinois required staff to attend weekly "affinity caucuses" segregated by race, where employees of other races could not participate. When staff attended alternative diversity, equity and inclusion training sessions instead, they encountered "repeated harassing and derogatory statements targeting white employees, including that they 'are White and do not feel racism the same way non-White patients feel,'" according to the EEOC.
What the organization says changed
Adrienne White-Faines, who became president and CEO in 2025, acknowledged the settlement in a statement and attributed the problematic practices to prior leadership. "In the time since this complaint was filed, and since I came on board as President and CEO in 2025, I have overseen significant change at the organization, including across the leadership team," White-Faines wrote. She framed the agreement as allowing the organization to "put this matter behind us and continue providing critical health care services to our valued patients from Illinois and across the country."
EEOC Chair Lucas emphasizes civil rights protections
EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas issued a statement Thursday emphasizing that federal law protects all workers regardless of race. "Title VII guarantees equal treatment for every employee and prohibits race discrimination in America's workplaces," Lucas wrote. "Those protections equally apply to white workers." She added that segregating employees by race violates "the core promise of our nation's civil rights laws."
Broader crackdown on diversity programs
Last month, Lucas sent a letter to Fortune 500 company leaders warning that DEI programs may be unlawful if employers take "an employment action motivated — in whole or in part— by an employee's or applicant's race, sex, or another protected characteristic." The agency is currently investigating Nike over its diversity staffing goals and has sued a Coca-Cola bottler and distributor for allegedly discriminating against white men when it held a networking event for female employees.
Former EEOC leaders have pushed back, issuing a public letter stating that diversity training and employee resource groups remain legal if everyone is treated fairly without discrimination and affinity groups remain open to all employees.
The sources also report that the investigation was prompted by charges brought by multiple employees.