August 14th 2023.
America First Legal, a conservative legal group run by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller, has urged the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate Kellogg’s due to workplace diversity policies and allegations that the cereal brand sexualizes its products.
The group has alleged that Kellogg’s has “discarded the company’s long-held family-friendly marketing approach to politicize and sexualize its products” and cited its marketing campaign featuring drag queen RuPaul and cereal boxes celebrating LGBTQ pride month.
The EEOC investigates complaints, known as charges, filed by workers, and can launch investigations and file charges if workplace discrimination has occurred. Last year, due to a vacancy on the commission, a 2-2 stalemate between Democratic and Republican appointees led to the filing of 29 charges.
Kellogg’s denied the allegations and said in a statement that it is “committed to complying with employment laws and has policies prohibiting workplace discrimination.” It also said that it is “aspiration is to better reflect the diversity of our consumers and to strengthen our inclusive culture.”
A Democratic nominee of President Joe Biden, civil rights lawyer Kalpana Kotagal, was confirmed as Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last month, giving Democrats a 3-2 majority.
America First Legal has challenged Kellogg’s “25% underrepresented talent at the management level” by 2025 and fellowship programs open only to racial minorities. According to Reuters, Reed Rubenstein, an America First lawyer, wrote in a letter to the EEOC that “Kellogg’s employment practices are unlawfully based on ‘equity,’ which is a euphemism for illegal discrimination.”
The complaints are part of a campaign by conservative groups against gender and diversity policies established during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. America First Legal has also sued Target concerning its LGBTQ-themed merchandise during Pride Month earlier this year.
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