American Airlines drops DEI policies to avoid violating federal law

Another airline company has banished progressive agenda from its policy and principles. Boeing and Southwest Airlines are now joined by American Airlines, which will part with its diversity, equity and inclusion criteria, commonly known as DEI policies, when hiring new employees.

American Airlines' decision stems from a settlement the world's largest airline reached with the group America First Legal (AFL) to end a lawsuit over "discriminatory employment practices" that "violate federal law."

"Last week, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) notified America First Legal (AFL) that American Airlines has agreed to abandon the discriminatory employment practices AFL outlined in its federal civil rights complaint against the company. The airline acknowledged that recruiting and hiring based on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) violates federal laws and equal employment opportunities," the legal group reported via a statement.

The legal process lasted less than a year. In January, the AFL filed the complaint against the airline with the OFCCP seeking an investigation into whether or not American Airlines, which received hundreds of millions of dollars in government aid, did or did not comply with federal contracting requirements, something it pledged to do.

That investigation concluded in mid-December, at which time the OFCCP showed that American Airlines violated the law by hiring new employees based on DEI policies, in most cases, looking at candidates' race and sex rather than individual merit.

Apart from American Airlines, Boeing and Southwest Airlines, other companies such as Walmart, Harley-Davidson and Caterpillar, and even states such as Alabama and Florida have eliminated DEI policies. These criteria are in the spotlight for allegedly provoking racial tensions and conflicting attitudes.