FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has successfully moved Verizon to ditch its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which he slammed as “invidious discrimination.”
“Verizon has now agreed to end its DEI policies as specified in a new FCC filing. These changes are effective immediately. A good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and the public interest,” Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Carr wrote.
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Verizon explained in a new filing with the telecommunications regulatory agency that Verizon would change its human resources (HR) structure and would no longer have a team dedicated to DEI and that those with DEI-based roles will now focus on HR talent objectives.
Verizon said it would also:
- Remove references to DEI from its employee training materials
- End requirements that its suppliers meet quantitative goals for diverse spend, remove diversity supplier metrics from its management pay plan. Instead its supplier program will now focus on focus on increasing opportunities for small businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and more
- Verizon’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) will be open to all regardless of race, gender, and other demographics
- Changed Verizon’s annual bonus/Short-Term Incentive (STI) that included a goal to hire more women and minorities and will not maintain any workforce diversity goals
- Scholarships, internships, and career development will not be based on racial and gender characteristics
- Removed references to “Diversity and Inclusion” on its websites and communications
“While our practices may evolve, we are committed to the core principles that have made us successful — an inclusive culture based on trust, care, and excellence, which enables us to provide market leading services to all of our customers,” Verizon concluded in the filing.
In late February, Carr opened in an inquiry into Verizon’s DEI policies; he had done the same with Comcast’s DEI practices. Carr has referred to these DEI practices as “invidious forms of discrimination” that could be in violation of “FCC regulations and civil rights laws.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
