Led by Non-Binary Fed Worker Lawsuit Accuses Trump of Discrimination for Ending Govt. DEI Programs

Spearheaded by a woman who identifies as “non-binary,” a group of federal employees who worked in specially created government Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments under the Biden administration are suing President Trump for ending the wasteful and exclusionary programs and firing them. The former government workers claim they were unlawfully dismissed because the president violated employment protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by disproportionately impacting and targeting black, women and non-binary federal employees as well as people of color and those perceived of advocating for legally protected racial and gender groups, including LGBTQ people. “While neutral on their face, these policies had an unlawful disparate impact on women and non-binary employees, and/or people of color,” reads the lawsuit filed this month in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint acknowledges that, while changes in presidential priorities are normal during an administration change, the broad DEI cuts were targeted actions intended to punish perceived political enemies like the plaintiffs in this case.

The governmentwide DEI cuts have impacted an unknown number of federal employees, but could potentially be in the thousands, according to the lawsuit. It identifies at least 40 women or non-binary individuals, and more than 40 people of color who lost their DEI government jobs under Trump. Among them is Mahri Stainnak, a non-binary (does not identify as a man or woman and uses “they” pronoun) biological woman who served as DEI deputy director in the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) human resources office under Biden. Stainnak was fired for advancing initiatives for LGBTQ workers, the lawsuit says, and a fellow plaintiff for advocating for protected racial and gender groups at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Others include an air traffic control manager who facilitated inclusivity, a public health advisor who promoted outreach to LGBTQ communities, a DHS worker who ensured language competency at the border, and a forestry employee who ensured equitable access to federal lands. The anti-DEI directives reveal that people targeted for termination include substantially more women and/or non-binary workers and an over-selection of people of color with a substantial over-selection of black employees, the complaint states.

For example, the lawsuit says, at least 97 female and 37 male employees were cut from a DHS civil rights office characterized by DOGE as corrupted by DEI. “When compared to the number of women in the federal workforce (approximately 918,127) vs. men in the federal workforce (approximately 1,122,155) or even compared within DHS (69,019 vs.130,616), the adverse impact is stark and disproportionate,” the complaint states, adding that “the impact on employees of color is similarly evident.” To back this up the lawsuit reveals that 41 black employees and 71 white employees were fired from the same unit with approximately 383,573 black employees and around 1,213,968 white employees, constituting what the plaintiffs allege is a “disparate impact.” As a result of the Trump administration’s discriminatory patterns and practices, women and people of color have been systematically harmed, the complaint states, alleging that the former DEI workers were “targeted due to their protected race and/or gender status.”

The governmentwide DEI fiasco was created when Biden strong armed all federal agencies to implement plans to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities with a 2021 executive order. The order included a mandate for all government agencies to establish an equity team and proactive engagement with members of underserved communities through culturally and linguistically appropriate listening sessions. Biden also established a White House Steering Committee on Equity composed of senior officials who coordinated the government’s sweeping efforts to promote his leftist agenda. The Treasury Department named its first ever racial equity chief, a veteran La Raza official who spent a decade at the nation’s most influential open borders group. The Department of Defense (DOD) used outrageous anti-bias materials that indoctrinated troops with anti-American and racially inflammatory training on diversity topics. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created an equity commission to address longstanding inequities in agriculture. The nation’s medical research agency launched a special minority health and health disparities division that issued a study declaring COVID-19 exacerbated preexisting resentment against racial/ethnic minorities and marginalized communities.

On the day of his inauguration President Trump signed an executive order terminating all government DEI and environmental justice offices and positions, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” that resulted in “immense public waste.” The fired DEI government employees accuse the president of having disdain for DEI and associating it with political ideologies he disfavors, such as Marxism or the radical left as well as people of color from the Democratic party such as Kamala Harris.

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