04-23-2025
Three law students filed a lawsuit against the EEOC in a Washington, D.C., federal court. They assert that the scrutiny over the diversity policies at 20 law firms is illegal and may expose personal information about attorneys and job applicants. Acting chair Andrea Lucas asked for information from these firms, including law students’ names, sex, race, contact information, academic performance, compensation, participation in affinity groups, and numerous details about their employment history.
The three anonymous students claim Lucas did not have the power to require law firms to provide extensive information about the firms’ respective diversity initiatives. These three students stated they applied for positions this summer at some of the firms identified by the EEOC. They fear EEOC will now have access to their data because of the demands to law firms. Specifically, the law students “now have significant concerns…that the government may use their data improperly to target them or their families for any activity or speech it wishes to stifle.”
The EEOC declined to comment to Reuters when asked about the lawsuit. Under federal law, the agency may launch investigations after receiving official complaints from workers. EEOC commissioners may also initiate a complaint, but the EEOC is then prohibited from disclosing its existence. The students do not believe any formal complaints have been filed and that Lucas thus has no power to request the information. In their lawsuit, the students seek to block the EEOC from getting employee information from law firms without following the required procedures. They asked for an order directing the agency to destroy any collected data.