How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woesNEW YORK (AP) — Walmart's sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are re-evaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups. The changes announced by the world's biggest retailer on Monday followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The retreat from such programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump's incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher at the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches -- the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President -- are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the October survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associate at Pew, called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI," Glasgow said. "The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Walmart says its U.S. businesses sourced more than $13 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers in fiscal year 2024, including businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America's top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart's announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart's need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company has no explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer's ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart." Walmart's announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025.
SCBA supports extension to Constitutional Bench Atta says, "We reiterate our full support and confidence in the esteemed members of the JCP" SCBA President Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta is seen in this image. — Facebook@Mian Rauf Atta/File ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBA) President Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta has strongly condemned the statement issued by representatives of the All Pakistan Lawyers Action Committee and refuted its allegations regarding the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) that took place on December 21, 2024. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); In a written statement issued here on Thursday, he said the SCBA commends and appreciates the JCP proceedings which lasted over eight hours and included extensive discussions that resulted in the extension of Constitutional Benches for an additional six months. “We reiterate our full support and confidence in the esteemed members of the JCP, its chairman, and the head of the Constitutional Bench.” The JCP comprises equal representation from key stakeholders, including the judiciary and the legislature. Thus, to doubt their expertise without substantial evidence for petty political gain is unacceptable, he said, adding: “We emphasise that the introduction of the 26th Constitutional Amendment has secured the independence of the judiciary, and the formation of Constitutional Benches has significantly reduced the backlog in the Supreme Court, facilitating faster and more effective justice for the public. “The statement from the representatives of the so-called committee deserves strong condemnation, as it is both unfounded and reprehensible. Their actions are nothing less than a motivated political campaign aimed to sabotage and politicise the fair and transparent proceedings of the JCP and a failed effort to discredit its esteemed members and the honourable chairman. “Such factions have a history of tarnishing their institutions. Their attempts to bring disrepute to our own prestigious institutions related to the judiciary, along with hindering the public's access to efficient justice, are deplorable. This divisive behaviour within the legal fraternity is unacceptable. “We call on the Pakistan Bar Council to take serious notice of the statements issued by these unelected representatives and enforce strict disciplinary action against them. Let it be clear that attempts to undermine our institutions, especially those related to the judiciary, will not be tolerated. “Such actions for petty political gains must be addressed decisively to prevent further division. We want to make it abundantly clear that the authority to initiate any campaign from any forum of the legal fraternity rests with the elected representatives, not with unelected person(s). “We fully support the supremacy of the Parliament, with the 26th Constitutional Amendment as an integral part of the Constitution, along with all lawful and constitutional developments that follow,” concluded the statement. Earlier, the All-Pakistan Lawyers Action Committee for the Restoration of Constitutional Rule and the Independence of the Judiciary criticised the extension and composition of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, what it termed, orchestrated by the executive-dominated JCP. In a statement issued here, Coordinator of the Committee Sardar Shahbaz Ali Khosa advocate said that the extension and composition of the Constitutional Bench by the JCP had undermined judicial independence, jeopardising the sanctity of the judiciary and the rule of law. The committee, however, commended Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail for aligning with Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Munib Akhtar in emphasising that all judges of the Supreme Court should be part of the Constitutional Bench. The committee expected Chief Justice Yahya Afridi would ensure that petitions challenging the 26th Amendment are heard by a Full Court comprising all Supreme Court judges adding that this step is critical to preserving the institution’s credibility and independence. The committee also demanded the suspension of proceedings before the current Constitutional Bench until the legality and constitutionality of the 26th Amendment are adjudicated by a Full Court. Senior lawyers and SCBA former presidents, including Hmaid Khan, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, Abid S Zubairi, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir A Malik and Amanullah Kanrani, endorsed the statement of the committee.Ultra-progressive women fetishize Luigi Mangione because they’ve spent years shaming masculinityThey are investigating whether his short-lived martial law decree earlier this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Mr Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Mr Yoon has dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and has also blocked searches of his offices. It is not clear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Mr Yoon can be compelled to appear for questioning. Under the country’s laws, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge and it is unlikely Mr Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detainment. Mr Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14 over his imposition of martial law that lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. His fate lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Mr Yoon from office or reinstate him. Mr Yoon has defended the martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has been bogging down his agenda with its majority in the parliament. Parliament voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had assumed the role of acting president after Mr Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Mr Yoon’s case. The country’s new interim leader is Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also finance minister.
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