A group of law students represented by a liberal advocacy group sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday, claiming it is being unlawfully weaponized against big law and future attorneys.
Three law students, who remain anonymous in their legal filing, say Andrea Lucas, the acting chair of the EEOC, lacks the authority to investigate information of employees at 20 major law firms.
Ms. Lucas reportedly sent a letter to about 20 firms last month, requesting they provide information about diversity practices and hiring guidelines they’ve used for employees and interns, as she probes possible discrimination in the legal profession.
The Trump administration has moved to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies, saying they run afoul of civil rights by discriminating on the basis of race and sex.
The students claim the EEOC letter is “part of a broad campaign by the Trump administration to investigate and intimidate law firms, single out individual lawyers and other perceived enemies, and undermine the independence of the legal profession.”
The students say the request to turnover sensitive personal information like their names, gender, race and compensation has no merit and that the EEOC lacks authority to investigate the matter.
“Plaintiffs expected that their personal information would be kept confidential to the firm at which they worked or to which they applied unless the firms were legally required to disclose it. Defendants have no legal authority to collect this data absent an ongoing charge investigation against the firms. But now that Defendants have demanded it, Plaintiffs are deeply worried that their data will be divulged, and that they may be targeted as a result,” the lawsuit read.
it asks the court to rule the investigation unlawful.
A spokesperson from the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The filing comes at a time when law firms are fighting back against the administration after Mr. Trump issued executive orders to restrict the actions of certain law firms that represented or aided his political rivals. The president’s orders aim to remove the attorneys’ security clearances, restrict the firms’ access to federal buildings and terminate government contracts.
Some of the firms have sued, arguing the orders run afoul of the First Amendment.
“The president’s ongoing assault on the legal profession threatens core pillars of our democracy,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, which is representing the law students in their legal battle. “After weeks of unlawful targeting and bullying law firms and members of the judiciary, the Trump administration is now weaponizing the EEOC to target the next generation of attorneys.”
