Southwest Airlines to Discontinue DEI Employment Practices Following Lawsuit

December 4, 2024 TruthUSA

On Monday, Southwest Airlines announced the elimination of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, following a lawsuit filed by a constitutional rights legal firm that claimed the airline engaged in “unlawful discriminatory employment practices.”

America First Legal (AFL) released a statement on Tuesday detailing a letter from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which confirmed that the airline has “acknowledged and agreed to discontinue illegal race and sex discrimination in all hiring and promotional practices, including any unlawful DEI quotas, benchmarks, or preferences.”

According to the letter, the OFCCP conducted an “informal compliance conference” with Southwest Airlines to discuss the claims presented by AFL in a complaint submitted in January.

The OFCCP informed AFL that Southwest “understands that OFCCP guidelines do not allow quotas, preferences, or set asides” and affirms that placement goals are “not meant to be interpreted as a ceiling or floor for the employment of specific groups, but should be seen as a benchmark for measuring workforce representation.”

In its complaint, AFL accused Southwest Airlines, along with United Airlines and American Airlines, of violating federal contracts by breaching Executive Order 11246.

As per the order, federal contractors receiving over $10,000 in government contracts annually cannot make employment decisions that discriminate based on race or gender.

As of the publication date, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and the OFCCP had not responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comments.

AFL noted that since 2007, Southwest Airlines has been awarded over $330 million in federal government contracts.

“The American public should not have their hard-earned money used to support evidently discriminatory activities by federal contractors,” stated AFL attorney Gene Hamilton earlier this year. “Yet that is exactly what occurs when federal contractors adopt policies that— as they openly acknowledge on their websites and in other public communications— discriminate against individuals based on inherent traits.”

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