The Trump administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against the New York Times on Tuesday, alleging the news organization violated federal law by denying promotion to a white male editor based on race or sex.
The employee, who has worked at the Times since 2014 and spent more than nine years as senior staff editor on the international desk, applied for a deputy real estate editor position listed in January 2025. According to the EEOC complaint, he met all stated requirements and considered himself "significantly" more qualified than the eventual hire.
The four finalists for the role included no white males. The job went to Monica Burton, who joined the Times from Eater, a Vox Media property.
The lawsuit zeroed in on the Times' efforts to expand diversity in its leadership ranks. "A necessary consequence of NYT's intent to increase the percentage of non-White leaders would be a decrease in the percentage of White leaders," the complaint stated. "Particularly, decreasing the percentage of White males in leadership would contribute to the NYT's dual goals of increasing the percentages of females and 'people of color' (as defined by NYT) in leadership."
The EEOC had earlier determined there was "reasonable cause" to believe the Times violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bars employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
The Times pushed back sharply. "The New York Times categorically rejects the politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration's EEOC," said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a company spokesperson. "Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world. We will defend ourselves vigorously."
She noted that the lawsuit centered on a single deputy position among more than 100 in the newsroom and said neither race nor gender influenced the decision. "We hired the most qualified candidate, and she is an excellent editor," Ha added.
The legal action fits a broader pattern of government pressure on media companies over workplace practices. Last week, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr cited an ongoing investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Disney as justification for calling up eight ABC-owned television station broadcast licenses for early renewal. The move came just one day after Donald and Melania Trump called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke they found objectionable.
Media outlets have already begun scaling back diversity initiatives launched after George Floyd's death in 2020. CBS News dismantled its race and culture unit during layoffs in October. When Skydance sought FCC approval for its 2025 merger with Paramount, it committed to eliminating all diversity-focused programs at the CBS parent company.
Author James Rodriguez: "The lawsuit exposes how diversity efforts in hiring have become a political target rather than a settled human resources practice."
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