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Nike is facing a high-profile federal probe after the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched an investigation into the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, specifically examining whether they may have unfairly impacted White employees.

The investigation, revealed Wednesday, reflects a broader push under the Trump administration to scrutinize DEI programs in major US companies.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the agency is looking into potential discrimination tied to Nike's "DEI-related 2025 Targets and other DEI-related objectives."

The agency's subpoena requests information on the company's hiring, promotion, and layoff practices, along with 16 mentoring and career development programs that allegedly favored certain racial or ethnic groups, CNN reported.

Lucas emphasized that the investigation covers "all White employees, former employees, prospective employees, and current and prospective training program applicants and participants who have been, continue to be, or may in the future be adversely affected by the alleged unlawful employment practices."

Nike described the EEOC's action as "a surprising and unusual escalation" and said it has already shared thousands of pages of information in response to the subpoena.

"We are committed to fair and lawful employment practices and follow all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination," the company said in a statement.

"We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously. We will continue our attempt to cooperate with the EEOC and will respond to the petition."

EEOC Requests Nike Records Dating Back to 2018

The probe stems not from a worker complaint, but from a commissioner's charge Lucas filed in May 2024, months after conservative legal group America First Legal urged the EEOC to examine Nike's DEI programs.

The EEOC is reportedly requesting information going back to 2018, including documents on workforce representation targets and alleged race-restricted programs.

According to Yahoo, Lucas has long criticized DEI programs, arguing that they can pressure managers to make race-based decisions that violate federal civil rights law.

In December, she posted on social media calling on White men who felt they were discriminated against to come forward and file claims, signaling her focus on enforcing civil rights protections evenly across all racial groups.

Legal experts say the investigation is part of a larger trend. Sam Mitchell, a Chicago-based employment lawyer, told CNN, "Nike is being made an example of," noting that no employer, regardless of prominence, is immune from scrutiny under the current administration's anti-DEI enforcement policies.

Nike, which publicly committed to achieving 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025, said its DEI goals are intended to widen recruitment efforts and root out bias—not to establish quotas.