EEOC sues New York Times, alleging bias against White male worker

MoneyWatch EEOC sues New York Times, alleging discrimination against White male worker .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Megan Cerullo Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Megan Cerullo May 5, 2026 / 4:49 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the New York Times, alleging the media company violated federal law by failing to consider a White male employee for promotion. According to the EEOC, the Times did not promote the worker because of his race or gender, which the agency argues violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. "No one is above the law — including 'elite' institutions. There is no such thing as 'reverse discrimination'; all race or sex discrimination is equally unlawful, according to long-established civil rights principles," EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement."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," she added."Politically motivated" attack?Danielle Rhoades Ha, senior vice president of communications at the New York Times, dismissed the EEOC suit."The New York Times categorically rejects the politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration's EEOC," she said in a statement. "Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world. We will defend ourselves vigorously."The employee, whom the commission described as a longtime editor at the p...