Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Agency sues The New York Times for not promoting white male employee, (May 6, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

“Federal law is clear: making hiring or promotion decisions motivated in whole or in part by race or sex violates federal law. There is no diversity exception to this rule.”

In a new lawsuit filed by the EEOC, the federal agency alleges that The New York Times Company, a global news publisher based in New York, N.Y., violated federal law when it passed over a white male employee for a promotion, allegedly because of its DEI policies.

According to the agency, The New York Times chose not to promote a white male employee because of his race and/or sex, alleging that the employer left the longtime New York Times editor, who had extensive experience in real estate journalism, out of its final panel interviews for a vacant deputy real estate editor position in early 2025. The agency alleges that no white male candidates advanced through to the final interview process.

Process irregularities. The employer ended up hiring an outside candidate, a non-white female with little to no experience in real estate journalism, the agency alleges, even though such experience was a requirement for the position. It also alleges that the hiring manager approved the successful candidate for inclusion in the final interview panel without her first going through the standard interview processes for the position. She was also selected for the position, the agency contends, in spite of the final interview panel rating her less favorably than two other final candidates.

According to the EEOC, The New York Times has a well-documented commitment to enacting race and sex conscious decision making in the workforce because of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and its stated desire to increase non-white and female representation in leadership positions.

“No matter the size or power of the employer, the EEOC under my leadership will not pull punches in ensuring evenhanded, colorblind enforcement of Title VII to protect America’s workers, including white males,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “Federal law is clear: making hiring or promotion decisions motivated in whole or in part by race or sex violates federal law. There is no diversity exception to this rule.”

NYT responds. The employer has responded publicly to the suit, in a statement by its Senior Vice President, Communications, Danielle Rhoades Ha. She states that the employer “categorically rejects the politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration’s EEOC.”

“Throughout this process,” Ha claims, “the EEOC deviated from standard practices in highly unusual ways. The allegation centers on a single personnel decision for one of over 100 deputy positions across the newsroom, yet the EEOC’s filing makes sweeping claims that ignore the facts to fit a predetermined narrative. Neither race nor gender played a role in this decision—we hired the most qualified candidate, and she is an excellent editor.”

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