Judge Tosses DEI Hiring Suit Against Cornell Over Standing

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Cornell University has beaten a lawsuit that accused it of discriminatory hiring tied to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. A New York district judge, Glenn Suddaby, ruled on Monday that the plaintiff had no standing to sue (Wright v. Cornell University).

The plaintiff is a former academic with a science background. The court found evidence that he "had no intention of reentering academia after publicly announcing his departure from it after April 2020, much less specifically to apply for a position" with Cornell.

"Able but not ready"

He argued that Cornell's hiring approach unfairly preferred minority candidates. Suddaby did not weigh that claim. He looked first at whether the plaintiff could bring the case at all.

The court said a person challenging a discriminatory hiring process can establish standing by showing that they are "able and ready to apply, but a discriminatory policy prevents them from doing so on equal footing." Suddaby found the plaintiff "perhaps able but not ready." His statements on social media, in quotes given to The Daily Caller and in a Wall Street Journal editorial all referred to his having left academia, the court said.

The plaintiff had also said he would not apply for jobs at institutions that required DEI statements. The court called it a documented fact that he was so opposed to DEI initiatives that he skipped openings with a DEI component in the application. That, Suddaby said, strongly indicates he was not reasonably "ready" to apply to Cornell, which has an expressly stated commitment to certain DEI initiatives.

Richard Lawson, litigation vice-chair at the America First Policy Institute, told HR Dive: "We are reviewing the order, and we are dedicated to continuing the fight on behalf of [the plaintiff] against unlawful discrimination." Cornell did not respond to HR Dive's request for comment before publication.

Because the case ended on standing, the arguments about DEI-based discrimination went untested. Such claims have gained some traction in federal courts and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

On Friday, a Florida judge let a group of White male current and former Danaher Corp. employees move forward with a suit alleging the company's DEI policies discriminated against them by race and sex. That judge found four plaintiffs showed they were passed over for less qualified applicants because of the policy.

Source: HR Dive