The board of technology giant Apple has asked investors to vote against a proposal to abandon its diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, saying it already has the right compliance procedures in place to deal with any legal risks.
Apple said it has been advised that the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative thinktank, intends to submit a proposal at the company’s annual general meeting next month to cease its DEI initiatives.
The NCPPR cites the implications of two US Supreme Court judgments on positive action. In Students for Fair Admissions vs Harvard College, the court ruled that discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In Muldrow vs City of St. Louis, the court ruled that the Civil Rights Act protected against discriminatory job transfers.
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With 80,000 employees, the NCCPR said that Apple “likely has over 50,000 who are potentially victims of this type of discrimination”, arguing that if even only a fraction of employees filed successful lawsuits, the cost to Apple could reach tens of billions of dollars.
Other tech firms, including Meta and Amazon, have rolled back their DEI programmes before Donald Trump, who has been critical of “woke” policies, returns to the White House next week.
Last week, McDonald’s was accused of “never taking DEI seriously” after it signalled it would roll back its programmes.
The board recommends that shareholders vote against the NCPPR’s proposal. “The proposal also inappropriately attempts to restrict Apple’s ability to manage its own ordinary business operations, people and teams, and business strategies,” said the board in its voting recommendations to shareholders.
It added: “Apple is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, training, or promoting on any basis protected by law. Apple seeks to operate in compliance with applicable non-discrimination laws, both in the US and in the many other jurisdictions in which we operate, and in that regard monitors and evolves its practices, policies, and goals as appropriate to address compliance risks.
“The proposal inappropriately seeks to micromanage the company’s programmes and policies by suggesting a specific means of legal compliance. The proposal is unnecessary as Apple already has a well-established compliance programme.”
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