Key conservative groups have moved to sue the Securities and Exchange Commission for blocking efforts to get Kroger to include protections for right-leaning employees in their “diversity, equity & inclusion” rules.
The National Center for Public Policy Research, backed by America First Legal, filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that calls for a swift decision before Kroger’s shareholder meeting in mid-May.
BIDEN WEEKLY REPORT CARD: PART-TIME PRESIDENT WANTS SECOND TERM
At issue is the center’s concern that Kroger’s DEI policy omits two factors that are often used to punish conservatives: “viewpoint” and “ideology.” It has asked that the company produce a report for shareholders detailing “the potential risks associated with omitting ‘viewpoint’ and ‘ideology’ from its written equal employment opportunity policy.”
The company, however, won the SEC’s OK to refuse the request because of other rules that claim shareholders can’t micromanage or interfere with daily business operations. The request from the center was filed on behalf of several shareholders.
Conservative groups claim that Kroger has an anti-conservative bent, and the DEI policy enforces that. For example, the company caught flak when it took items off the shelves that conservatives view as pro-America.
America First Legal Vice President Gene Hamilton said: “For too long, big corporations — taken hostage by left-wing antagonists — have advanced ideological interests at shareholder expense. And for too long, big government has not only enabled their crusade against shareholder interests, but it has also enabled their crusade against the American people and the national interest. We are proud to represent our clients in this case and to fight against viewpoint discrimination in corporate America.“
Washington’s Boyden Gray & Associates is the lead counsel in the case for the National Center for Public Policy Research. America First Legal is serving as co-counsel.
Kroger’s policy commits the company to a “policy of equal opportunity for all associates without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
Missing are “viewpoint” and “ideology.” In its paperwork, America First Legal said that when the SEC agreed to let Kroger ignore the report request to shareholders, Kroger and the SEC “effectively turned a blind eye” to conservatives who “often face employment discrimination due to political ideology, while acknowledging other factors like ‘gender.’”
SEE THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS AND BUZZ FROM WASHINGTON SECRETS
The center also said that by endorsing Kroger’s limited DEI framework, the SEC was signaling that it was OK to discriminate against conservatives.
In its filing on Monday, America First Legal said: “By blessing proposals that asked about sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination … while agreeing that identical proposals about viewpoint discrimination and ideology can be excluded, the SEC has itself engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. The SEC’s actions demonstrate that it believes discrimination is a matter of significant social policy concern — unless (ironically) it involves discrimination on the basis of viewpoint or ideology, in which case the SEC will move to chill such speech by agreeing with companies seeking to exclude such proposals.”
