In a memo obtained by the Texas Tribune, Gov. Greg Abbott asked Texas state agencies to stop using DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives when hiring employees. Abbott's chief of staff, Gardner Pate, signed the letter expressing the belief that the workplace should be free from discrimination. He claimed some agencies are using discriminatory practices to hire under the guise of DEI.
"As Texans, we celebrate the diversity of our state and the presence of a workforce that represents our rich culture," Pate said in a letter to Porter Wilson, executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas. "In recent years, however, the innocuous-sounding notion of diversity, equity and inclusion has been manipulated to push policies that expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others. Indeed, rather than increasing diversity in the workplace, these DEI initiatives are having the opposite effect and are being advanced in ways that proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace. Illegally adding DEI requirements as a screening tool in hiring practices or using DEI as a condition of employment leads to the exclusion and alienation of individuals from the workplace."
The Texas Tribune first reported on the governor's letter to state agencies citing federal law that forbids discrimination in the workplace. The letter also warns public universities to stop using DEI when hiring. According to KHOU News, DEI initiatives are "policies that support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against." The governor's office called these initiatives out, namely labeling them illegal. KHOU News said using DEI when hiring faculty or staff can include setting "diversity goals" or making sure diverse candidates are interviewed.
"Rebranding this employment discrimination as ‘DEI’ doesn’t make the practice any less illegal," Pate wrote in the memo. "Further, when a state agency spends taxpayer dollars to fund offices, departments or employee positions dedicated to promoting forbidden DEI initiatives, such actions are also inconsistent with the law.”
Abbott's office released a statement following the public release of the memo which according to KHOU News read: "The letter from the governor’s chief of staff is a reminder that state agencies and public universities must follow federal and state law in their hiring practices. Both federal and state law make equity quotas illegal. Equity is not equality. Here in Texas, we give people a chance to advance based on talent and merit. Aspiring to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, we should not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.”
Recently, Rep. Carl Tepper filed House Bill 1006, which aims to ban offices of diversity, equity and inclusion because he feels public universities shouldn't push political narratives "on the taxpayer dollar," Austin Journal reported.