Nike is under federal investigation over allegations that its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts may have discriminated against White employees and job applicants.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed Wednesday that it has filed a subpoena enforcement action in federal court in Missouri to compel Nike to turn over information the agency says it needs to pursue a systemic race discrimination probe.
According to the EEOC’s court filing, the agency is examining whether Nike’s DEI policies – including its 2025 diversity targets – led to “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees, applicants and training program participants” in employment decisions. Those decisions include hiring, promotions, demotions, layoffs and access to internships, mentoring and leadership‑development programs.
The enforcement action is one of the most prominent early tests of the Trump administration’s promise to scrutinize corporate DEI initiatives and to prioritize cases in which White workers allege discrimination. In December, the EEOC took the unusual step of publicly encouraging White men who believed they had faced discrimination at work to come forward with complaints.
“Title VII’s prohibition of race‑based employment discrimination is colorblind and requires the EEOC to protect employees of all races from unlawful employment practices,” EEOC chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement announcing the Nike action. She added that, under President Donald Trump, the commission had “renewed its focus on evenhanded enforcement of Title VII.”
The EEOC says it began investigating after receiving allegations that Nike’s diversity goals and related initiatives may have unfairly disadvantaged White workers. As part of that probe, the agency issued a subpoena seeking information going back to 2018, including:
After Nike did not voluntarily provide all of the requested information, the EEOC filed its subpoena enforcement action in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The case is titled EEOC v. NIKE, Inc., Case No. 4:26‑mc‑00128.
The company has not yet publicly commented on the enforcement action.
The Nike probe comes amid a broader Trump‑era effort to roll back federal support for DEI initiatives and to challenge corporate programs that explicitly consider race or gender. An executive order signed in January 2025 rescinded long‑standing affirmative action obligations for federal contractors and directed agencies to “terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences” tied to DEI, while encouraging enforcement actions against private‑sector diversity programs deemed unlawful.
The Department of Justice has also launched a “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” to pursue False Claims Act cases against recipients of federal funds whose DEI programs allegedly violate civil rights laws.
Separately, state‑level officials have begun targeting corporate diversity goals. In 2025, Missouri’s attorney general sued Starbucks, accusing the company of illegal discrimination by tying executive pay to diversity metrics and offering mentoring programs for women, LGBTQ employees and people of colour that allegedly excluded White men.
Taken together, the Nike investigation and related actions signal an aggressive new phase in how US regulators and politicians are testing the legal limits of corporate DEI efforts – not only on behalf of under‑represented groups, but increasingly on behalf of White workers who claim they have been left out.
