Your Civil Rights Obligations Remain in Force
Leadership Conference Letter to Private Sector – Your Civil Rights Obligations Remain in Force
May 16, 2025
Dear Leaders in Business, Philanthropy, Education, Law, Non-Profits, and Health Care,
Across American society — whether in corporate boardrooms, university campuses, courtrooms, or clinics — our civil rights laws create a foundation for fairness, equal opportunity, and dignity while advancing our democracy. We write to you today because the current administration is attempting to confuse and intimidate multiple sectors of society — including business, philanthropy, educational institutions, law firms, and tax-exempt organizations that work on civil and human rights. These efforts aim to discourage compliance with established legal obligations and objectives, particularly affecting historically marginalized communities, and they falsely label lawful conduct as “illegal discrimination.” In short, this intimidation threatens to reduce and endanger the very real benefits, services, and advocacy all residents of this great nation need and have a legal right to receive.
Do not be misled: What is under attack is private sector alignment with and advancement of civil rights laws and the progress we have made as a result. The Trump administration’s executive orders and agency actions cannot override or reinterpret federal civil rights laws, which protect everyone — including workers and union members — from discrimination and provide a greater chance for everyone to achieve the American Dream. Federal courts have already begun to limit portions of these orders, recognizing their overreach.
Proactive civil rights practices yield concrete results: Health care providers who receive cultural competency training deliver better patient outcomes, employers who recruit broadly can access untapped talent pools, and educational institutions that address barriers see improved student success across all demographics. Organizations, both public and private, derive multiple benefits from advancing civil rights, including attracting and retaining talent, creating greater job satisfaction and economic benefits, developing more critical thinkers, increasing social cohesion, and more.
Overreaction to the administration’s vague orders can, and in a disturbing number of instances have, led to self-censorship, suppression of factual information, and abandonment of lawful, valuable programs — all without legal justification. Organizations must also avoid missteps that could result in potential legal liability for violations of their civil rights obligations, damage to institutional reputation and community relationships, diminished profits, and missed opportunities to benefit from diverse perspectives.
Your Civil Rights Obligations Remain in Force
Despite these intimidation tactics, your legal, moral, and business obligations to ensure equal opportunity remain unchanged. Equal opportunity and anti-discrimination obligations are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and our federal civil rights laws. The executive orders and agency actions currently being implemented cannot override or reinterpret federal civil rights laws, which continue to require organizations to prevent discrimination and remove barriers to opportunity.
Federal civil rights laws protect against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, and other characteristics across employment, education, housing, health care, credit, and public accommodations. These include the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Affordable Care Act, and numerous other statutes. Executive orders cannot amend these laws, which obligate you to:
- Identify and remove barriers to equal opportunity
- Address harassment and discrimination
- Ensure that policies and practices do not have an unjustified negative impact on protected groups
- Create environments where people of all backgrounds can fully participate and contribute
How Organizations Achieve Civil Rights Compliance
Established civil rights legal organizations and enforcement agencies in states where businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations operate have confirmed that many diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts remain lawful and help ensure compliance with civil rights law.
A coalition of 16 state attorneys general recently explained that “Well-designed diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives call on [organizations] to pay attention to the (intentional and unintentional) impact their policies and practices have on different groups. For decades, both state and federal courts have consistently recognized that this does not amount to impermissible discrimination” (Multi-State Guidance Memorandum, February 13, 2025).
Lawful cross-sector measures to fulfill your civil rights obligations include:
- For Businesses: Diversity statements, anti-bias training, targeted recruiting, and aspirational diversity goals that ensure qualified candidates from all backgrounds have a fair chance to contribute. (LDF Guidance, February 2024)
- For Educational Institutions: Student affinity groups and cultural celebrations open to all students, inclusive curricula, and race-neutral measures to address barriers to educational opportunity.
- For Foundations: Considering applicants’ “demonstrated commitment to advocacy on behalf of Black communities or communities of color” and “lived experiences with race, racism, and discrimination.” (Lawyers’ Committee Fact Sheet, January 2025).
- For Legal Organizations: Pipeline programs, mentoring initiatives, and recruitment efforts that address the profession’s historical lack of diversity and enhance access to justice.
- For Health Care Organizations: Cultural competency training, community engagement efforts, and data collection that help identify and address documented health disparities.
The Risks of Abandoning Equal Opportunity Work
Recent research demonstrates that abandoning diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts may actually increase your legal liability. As the National Institute for Workers’ Rights found, “dropping such initiatives can help demonstrate a lack of reasonable care in fostering an inclusive work environment” and may increase exposure to discrimination lawsuits (NIWR Memorandum, October 2024).
Furthermore, as documented by a coalition of civil rights expert organizations, “the American Dream is not equally available to all,” as evidenced by ongoing racial disparities in employment, education, housing, and health care (Fact Sheet from Multiple Civil Rights Groups, January 2025). These disparities are not merely unfair — they harm our entire economy. A 2020 study by Citi estimates that “the United States’ aggregate economic output would have been $16 trillion dollars higher since 2000 if we had closed racial gaps in wages, access to higher education, lending, and mortgage access” (Fact Sheet from Multiple Civil Rights Groups, January 2025).
Civil Rights Compliance Is Good for Outcomes
Beyond legal compliance, organizations that robustly implement anti-discrimination practices see significant economic benefits.
Research demonstrates that companies with ethnically diverse executive teams are 36 percent more likely to financially outperform their competitors (Mckinsey Report, 2020). Companies with strong inclusion policies prove more innovative, even during economic downturns.
The cost of failing to address discrimination is staggering. Economic analysis by Citi shows that if meaningful action had been taken two decades ago to remove barriers to equal opportunity, the United States would have generated an additional $13 trillion in cumulative revenue, created 6 million more jobs annually, and added 0.2 percentage points to real GDP growth each year (Citi Report, 2020).
When your organization implements barrier removal programs, anti-bias training, and inclusive recruitment strategies, you are not only fulfilling legal obligations — you are investing in practices that enhance innovation, improve decisionmaking, and strengthen your bottom line. These are not “extras” that can be cut; they are essential practices that ensure both legal compliance and competitive advantage.
You Are Not Alone
Collectively, thousands of targeted institutions have joined together within their fields to counter government overreach, abuse, and intimidation, including law firms (Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Amicus Brief, April 4, 2025), civil rights organizations (The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Unity Pact, April 21, 2025), philanthropic organizations (Council on Foundations Public Statement, April 2025), and institutions of higher education (American Association of Colleges and Universities Statement, April 22, 2025) among many other coordinated efforts.
The vast majority of Americans — employees, students, patients, and community members — understand that equal opportunity strengthens our institutions and our nation. It is vital that we all speak publicly about why these programs are essential to our missions, our civil rights obligations, and our bottom lines.
The administration’s executive orders cannot change federal law — only Congress can do that. Understanding the limits of executive authority empowers you to maintain your legal compliance programs with confidence. Federal courts are already reviewing and limiting these orders’ reach. For example:
- Major law firms continue to provide pro bono representation to civil rights organizations
- Fortune 500 companies have publicly reaffirmed their commitment to inclusion practices
- Leading universities maintain programs that ensure equal opportunity
- Health care systems continue cultural competency training as essential to patient care
- Sixteen state attorneys general have issued guidance confirming that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts remain lawful and necessary
The choice is clear: Fulfill your legal obligations and thrive, or abandon them and face both legal liability and competitive disadvantage. Stay firm in your commitment to lawful practices.
Sincerely,
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights