The Department of Justice announced Thursday it is investigating the University of California (UC) over alleged civil rights violations in its employment practices.
The department is investigating the university’s “UC 2030 Capacity Plan” that allegedly has “race- and sex-based employment quotas” as the plan aims for a diverse faculty.
“Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law.”
The school’s 2030 Capacity Plan has two goals for increasing diversity among faculty.
The university said it wants to recruit at least 40 percent of its graduate students from its undergraduate programs and other Hispanic serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities and tribal colleges and universities. The university also wants to hire 1,100 ladder-rank faculty members, which are full-time professors with a tenure track.
The university says the increase in hiring will “diversify the faculty because new hires are more diverse than existing faculty.”
The Justice Department’s investigation will determine if the university has “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
If found guilty, the university could face a fine and pay damages to affected individuals.
The Hill has reached out to the University of California for comment.
