Planned Parenthood settles EEOC probe over DEI training, racial 'affinity' groups

By Daniel Wiessner

March 19 (Reuters) - Planned Parenthood's Illinois chapter will pay $500,000 to settle claims that it sorted its employees into race-based "affinity caucuses" and tolerated harassment of white workers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said on Thursday.

The EEOC in a release said it had found reasonable cause to believe that Planned Parenthood of Illinois violated federal civil rights law by mandating that employees attend diversity, equity and inclusion-related training sessions including derogatory statements about white people.

The commission recently sued a Coca-Cola bottler over a women-only networking event and has launched probes into Nike and Northwestern Mutual Insurance over DEI practices. But the settlement with the Planned Parenthood chapter is the agency's first involving diversity policies since President Donald Trump took office last year and began moving to eradicate DEI from the government and the private sector.

The EEOC said it also had mandatory "affinity caucuses" segregated by race and barred members of other races from joining them, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Affinity groups are typically voluntary, member-led workplace groups that form around common interests.

Planned Parenthood also denied white employees access to time off that it granted only to Black employees, the EEOC said. Title VII prohibits discrimination with respect to the "terms and conditions of employment."

Michelle Wetzel, Planned Parenthood of Illinois' general counsel, said the group does not tolerate bigotry, discrimination or harassment of any kind.

"The EEOC has issued their findings, and we have come to an agreement about a path forward that will allow us to continue providing critical health care services to our valued patients from Illinois and across the country," Wetzel said in a statement.

Trump and other critics of DEI say it erodes merit-based decisionmaking and discriminates against white people and men. But proponents say it helps employers comply with anti-discrimination laws and addresses historical bias against minority groups.

It was not clear who would be eligible to receive payouts from the settlement, or whether the group had agreed to revise its policies as is standard in EEOC settlements. The commission said Planned Parenthood removed a manager who had made racially harassing statements.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a Trump appointee who has been critical of DEI programs, said segregating workers by race violates a core tenet of civil rights law.

“There is no DEI exception to Title VII’s requirements," Lucas said in a statement. "The Commission will continue to enforce these protections to ensure equal opportunity for all.”

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