Johnson & Johnson denies engaging in illegal DEI practices after group makes civil rights complaint
Johnson & Johnson is denying any wrongdoing after being accused of violating federal law and a Trump executive order with DEI hiring practices, according to an investigation request submitted by America First Legal (AFL).
"Johnson & Johnson has always been and will continue to be compliant with all applicable laws and has never engaged in any "illegal DEI,'" a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
AFL is accusing Johnson & Johnson of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal government's Equal Opportunity Clause by engaging in what they claim is unlawful hiring and employment practices that they have openly promoted in past disclosures.
The conservative legal watchdog is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to launch an investigation into the drugmaker, claiming the company's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion violates federal law and affects every aspect of the business.
"[Johnson & Johnson's] public representations regarding the role of 'equity' in its employment practices reveal that it systematically and intentionally ignores its compliance obligations and instead violates [their] equal opportunity assurances to the federal government," AFL wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights.
According to Johnson & Johnson's 2023 Health for Humanity Report, the company sought to have 50% of its management positions held by women and 6.8% of management slots held by Black and African American employees by 2025 as part of its "aspirational goals." The report pointed to its progress in achieving 49% women representation and 6.5% Black and African American representation in management slots as of 2023.
"The Company's disregard for American civil rights is brazen. It boasts about 'creating equity across our systems and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion,'" the AFL complaint said.
A LinkedIn business post entitled "How Johnson & Johnson is building a diverse talent pipeline" claimed that the pharmaceutical giant uses data to monitor its talent goals and holds leaders in the company accountable to them. The article claims the diversity of the talent pool they are recruiting from is tracked as part of this data.
"One of the measures we are starting to look at is, not just the readiness of the pipeline… but what does the diversity of that mix look like? In order to provide a score or an assessment of the strength of the pipeline," Johnson & Johnson executive Sarah McKensey said in a video interview that accompanied the article.
The article said the purpose of providing such an assessment on the talent pipeline was to ensure that diversity becomes "a natural feature of the hiring landscape" and said the company also holds external recruiters accountable for the diversity of their talent pool.
Johnson & Johnson's 2023 DEI Impact Report stated that its leaders are responsible for developing "diverse and inclusive teams" and its 2023 health and humanity report detailed how the company would partner with women's professional associations in order to achieve "parity" in management.
Johnson & Johnson had 3,719 contracts in 2024 with the departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and other agencies, according to USAspending.gov, with $11.6 billion in potential total value. Upon taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning federal agencies from doing business with companies that engage in discriminatory DEI practices.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that "An unlawful employment or other hiring practice exists when race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is a motivating factor for any employment decision." Federal regulations state that federal agencies can cut off contracts from outfits that are not in compliance with the Civil Rights Act.
The AFL claims the Biden administration shirked its responsibility to investigate whether companies in the medical space were in violation of the civil rights act, and is urging the Trump administration to act now.
The company appears to have removed most of its DEI-related content from its public-facing website since Trump took office. The company's former DEI policy landing page, which once stated, "Johnson & Johnson and all its operating companies are committed to workforce diversity, creating equity across our systems, and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion," now redirects to a more general appendix of ESG policies. The 2023 DEI impact report and the 2023 Health for Humanity report also redirect to the inclusion page. Another DEI landing page has been deleted and replaced with a more tepid "inclusion" page.
However, AFL contends that the drugmaker is merely trying to conceal its ongoing DEI violations, and demands a federal investigation to uncover whether it is in compliance with the Civil Rights Act.
"Until very recently, Johnson & Johnson proudly touted DEI policies on its website that AFL believes plainly violated the Civil Rights Act. Institutions across corporate America and academia are now taking steps to rebrand or conceal their unlawful DEI policies in order to evade detection and continue their discriminatory practices.HHS must investigate to determine whether Johnson & Johnson is still engaging in illegal discrimination and violating the Civil Rights Act," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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