Signal EEOC sues employer over race-segregated DEI training and retaliation

Summary

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against an institution affiliated with Washington University on August 13, 2026. The central allegation is that employees at the Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center were placed into separate video-conference breakout rooms based on race during diversity, equity and inclusion training. The charging party alleges she and her coworkers were segregated this way, and that she was subsequently terminated in retaliation after raising the issue with the EEOC. The commission contends this conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The case continues a pattern in which the EEOC, under the current administration, has actively pursued Title VII claims targeting DEI programming.