A federal civil rights complaint filed Wednesday alleges cybersecurity technology company CrowdStrike discriminated against male and white employees under Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The conservative group America First Legal (AFL) claims CrowdStrike evaluated nominees for its board of directors based on immutable characteristics, including race and gender.
“CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company behind the global tech outage that grounded flights and forced hospital systems and banks offline, appears to be engaged in alleged anti-white, anti-male discrimination,” AFL tweeted.
/1🚨ATTENTION🚨
CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company behind the global tech outage that grounded flights and forced hospital systems and banks offline, appears to be engaged in alleged anti-white, anti-male discrimination.
We’ve filed a federal civil rights complaint: pic.twitter.com/vCa6Hzy1iw
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 24, 2024
CrowdStrike did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
CrowdStrike’s software update Friday unleashed a wave of disruptions for Microsoft systems, affecting major airlines and culminating in thousands of flight cancellations. (RELATED: Airline Still Not Recovering From Global Outage, Cancels Over 800 Flights In One Day, Leaving Thousands Stranded)
CrowdStrike uploaded a Preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR) to its website, explaining why Windows operating systems crashed. A bug in its software update was sent to the company’s “Falcon Sensor,” which detects for malicious attacks and viruses.
AFL noted in its press release how CrowdStrike’s nine employee resource groups offer training on various DEI topics. These resource groups are based on characteristics like race, sex and sexual orientation. AFL observed that while there was a Women of CrowdStrike and a group for black employees (Team BELIEVE), there was apparently no resource groups for male or white employees.
CrowdStrike appears to have a number of diversity-motivated initiatives that are featured prominently on their website, specifically highlighting “CrowdStrike’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
We filed a federal civil rights complaint with the EEOC. #DemolishDEI https://t.co/Zg9kQPxH72 pic.twitter.com/mYSZmyAXC9
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) July 24, 2024
The legal group lambasted CrowdStrike’s alleged employment policies as “unlawful, deeply harmful, and immoral” in its letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The letter also states that the company’s then-Global lead of DEI, Sheree Haggan, stated in a 2023 interview that Team BELIEVE’s mission included promoting “Black diversity, culture, and advancement” within CrowdStrike.
The company’s site says these resource groups, along with other initiatives like “allyship training,” are part of CrowdStrike’s efforts to create a “diverse workforce.”
Chief Human Resources Officer J.C. Herrera states a “diverse and equitable organization is key to our success” and “innovating through inclusion” is an objective of the company, according to CrowdStrike’s website.
In addition to the legal complaint, AFL also sent a letter to CrowdStrike’s board of directors. AFL claimed the company “unambiguously emphasized [DEI] at the expense of shareholder value.”
The letter highlights CrowdStrike’s Proxy Statement, which includes a “Board Diversity Matrix” to keep record of the “sex, gender identity, race, and ethnicity of its current directors.”
AFL alleges in its letter to the board that CrowdStrike is in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits using “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” as factors in hiring.
“CrowdStrike’s DEI leader specifically referenced efforts to use race as a basis for advancement in employment,” stated AFL’s Vice President Dan Epstein.
He elaborated, claiming that other factors combined with the DEI leader’s statement resulted in a “substantial likelihood” of illegal activity.
