Attorney General Alan Wilson joins letter demanding the nation's leading companies abandon DEI initiatives

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a letter with 14 other attorneys general urging the Business Roundtable, an association of the nation's leading companies, to abandon their unlawful and misguided DEI initiative. Many of the Roundtable's members have replaced free-market principles with costly and divisive DEI policies against the guidance of the Supreme Court. 

The attorneys general argue that the Business Roundtable should prioritize its stated mission of fostering economic growth, job creation, and shareholder returns, not implementing racial quotas and mandatory ideological training. The letter criticizes the group's shift away from merit-based hiring and warns that such practices are "not only unworkable but also often illegal."

“This should not be a difficult issue,” Attorney General Wilson said. “As we say in our letter, racial quotas are unlawful and corporations must treat all employees equally, without regard to race."

The letter highlights that members of the Business Roundtable are beginning to recognize that the tide is turning and that these policies are a mistake. A corporation's true purpose should be to prioritize shareholders and hire based on merit rather than protected characteristics.

The letter concludes by saying, "It's time for the Business Roundtable to abandon its redefinition and rededicate itself to merit-based hiring, which supports the actual purpose of a corporation and complies with employment laws. The Business Roundtable's member CEOs should immediately abandon quotas, targets, racial preferences, and other discriminatory DEI practices. Or face the potential of legal action by state attorneys general.” 

In addition to South Carolina, attorneys general from the following states signed the letter: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota.

You can read the letter here.