(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Texas governor Greg Abbott deems diversity initiatives to be a form of discrimination [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-08 Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) has a desire to halt initiatives that relate to diversity in hiring because he believes that they are a form of discrimination. Gardner Pate, the chief of staff for Abbott, said in a letter to state agencies that initiatives related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) violate state and national employment laws. The following letter is directed to Porter Wilson, the Executive Director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas. Dear Mr. Wilson, Federal and state law forbid discrimination against a current or prospective employee because of that person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or military service. This legal protection covers the hundreds of thousands of individuals who are employed by the State of Texas, including everyone who works at your agency. As Texans, we celebrate the diversity of our State and the presence of a workforce that represents our rich culture. In recent years, however, the innocuous-sounding notion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been manipulated to push policies that expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others. Indeed, rather than increasing diversity in the workplace, these DEI initiatives are having the opposite effect and are being advanced in ways that proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace. Illegally adding DEI requirements as a screening tool in hiring practices or using DEI as a condition of employment leads to the exclusion and alienation of individuals from the workplace. As the head of your agency, you have a duty to follow the law. When a state agency adjusts its employment practices based on factors other than merit, it is not following the law. Rebranding this employment discrimination as “DEI” does not make the practice any less illegal. Further, when a state agency spends taxpayer dollars to fund offices, departments, or employee positions dedicated to promoting forbidden DEI initiatives, such actions are also inconsistent with the law. Thank you for your attention to this important issue. If you have any questions, please contact the policy advisor assigned to your agency. Sincerely, Gardner Pate Chief of Staff x Here's a copy of one of the memos Gov. Abbott's chief of staff sent out re: DEI policies to the heads of state agencies and public universities (as first reported by @McGeeReports with @TexasTribune) ⬇️ https://t.co/4saFQ0sBmG pic.twitter.com/Fccx69PmFz — Adam Bennett (@AdamBennettKHOU) February 8, 2023 Greg Abbott’’s actions have mirrored those of Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R), who appointed anti-Critical Race Theory crusader Christopher Rufo to the New College of Florida board of trustees and is set to replace the recently fired school president with Richard Corcoran (R), a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Nevertheless, there are people who are not buying Abbott’s push for “talent and merit”. "Anti-discrimination laws protect all Americans by ensuring that employers do not make hiring decisions based on race, religion, or gender — while diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives work in tandem with those laws to encourage companies to solicit applications from a wide range of applicants, which is legal and beneficial," said Andrew Eckhouse, a lawyer at Kaplan Law Firm based in Austin. "Contrary to what the governor is implying, DEI initiatives have nothing to do with quotas, screenings, or exclusions," Eckhouse said. "Employment decisions must be non-discriminatory, that is nothing new, yet Gov. Abbott’s letter completely mischaracterizes the role of DEI in employment decisions.” Texas Republicans have recently gained notoriety for filing at least 66 bills that target the LGBTQ community, not the least of which include regulations on performances involving drag queens, a curtailing of gender-affirming care, and a “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Although only 1 out of 76 anti-LGBTQ bills passed in 2021, the widespread anti-LGBTQ climate has made Texas a major source of crisis calls from LGBTQ youth; 66 per cent of crisis calls to Rainbow Youth Project came from the Lone Star State. Furthermore, jurisdictions like the city of Houston and Fort Bend County lack formal protections for those that are LGBTQ, particularly when it comes to discrimination within accommodations and private employment. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/8/2151935/-Texas-governor-Greg-Abbott-deems-diversity-initiatives-to-be-a-form-of-discrimination Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/