Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—DOJ now investigating George Mason University’s employment practices, (Jul 18, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

It cites examples from internal emails sent by the GMU president in which, according to DOJ, he “openly advocated for race- and sex-based hiring processes at GMU.”

This week the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice announced that it has opened an investigation into George Mason University, which it believes may have engaged in a “pattern or practice” of employment discrimination based on race and sex. According to the department, its investigation stems from statements and policies made by the University’s president regarding diversity goals in faculty hiring and other employment decisions.

According to the DOJ, internal documents and emails suggest preferential treatment of certain races and sexes in hiring and other employment practices, including promotion and tenure of faculty members. The letter provides examples, such as the listing of the race of each member of faculty hiring panels and an email from 2020 regarding the renewal, promotion, and tenure process and the plan to “develop specific mechanisms in the promotion and tenure process that recognize the invisible and uncredited emotional labor that people of color expend to learn, teach, discover, and work on campus.”

“It is unlawful and un-American to deny equal access to employment opportunities on the basis of race and sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “When employers screen out qualified candidates from the hiring process, they not only erode trust in our public institutions—they violate the law, and the Justice Department will investigate accordingly.”

News: AgencyNews Discrimination RaceDiscrimination SexDiscrimination