A legal group run by former Trump aide Stephen Miller on Wednesday asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate Kellogg Co. over its policies and programs, which the group said are "infused with woke ideology."
In a letter to the EEOC, America First Legal Foundation’s senior counselor, Reed D. Rubinstein, wrote that Kellogg's, a publicly traded company, "engages in unlawful employment practices by seeking to 'balance' its workforce based on race, color, national origin, and sex."
"Instead of equality of opportunity, which Kellogg’s defines as 'giving each person the same things,' Kellogg’s employment practices are unlawfully based on 'equity,' which is a euphemism for illegal discrimination," Rubinstein said.
Specifically, America First Legal — which Miller founded with former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows to challenge "the radical activist left" — said it takes issue with the company's promise "that by the end of 2025, it will achieve an 'aspirational gender parity goal [sic] of 50/50 at the management level' in its global operations," adding that it offers a leadership development program "only for women."
Rubinstein also voiced opposition to Kellogg's efforts to diversify its leadership, which he said involve "advancing people based on skin color at the expense of others because of their skin color." Rubinstein claimed that Kellogg's "Chef in Residence" program is unlawful because "only Black or African American chefs are allowed, even if individuals with other immutable characteristics are otherwise qualified."
“All of these race-based programs and apparent quotas are illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," he wrote.
In a separate letter to Kellogg’s CEO Steven Cahillane, America First Legal said management "has hijacked the brand to advance an extreme political and social agenda" and "discarded the Company’s long-held family-friendly marketing approach to politicize and sexualize its products.”
America First Legal pointed to cereal boxes featuring rainbow heart-shaped cereal, a cereal mascot holding an LGBTQ flag and boxes of Cheez-Its featuring drag queen RuPaul. It also criticized Kellogg’s for having its Tony the Tiger mascot "linking elbows with the controversial transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney at the 76th Annual Tony Awards in New York City."
"Kellogg’s is yet another big corporation that will break the law and hurt its shareholders’ interests to serve the twisted woke ideology of its officers and directors; like Disney, Budweiser, and Target, Kellogg’s management has shown nothing but contempt and disdain for American families and American workers. America First Legal will keep fighting for big corporate accountability," the group said.
Reached for comment, Kellogg's said in a statement: "At Kellogg, our aspiration is to better reflect the diversity of our consumers and to strengthen our inclusive culture. We are committed to compliance with all applicable employment laws, and we have policies in place that prohibit workplace discrimination."
The EEOC, which investigates allegations of discrimination against employers and has the authority to file lawsuits, said that while it can confirm it received the letter, it can't provide further comment.
"Under federal law, information on possible charges (complaints) made to the EEOC is strictly confidential. EEOC cannot confirm or deny the existence of a charge and we are prohibited from releasing any information about charges or any investigation of possible charges," spokesperson Brandalyn Bickner said in a statement.
Conservative groups and elected officials have waged a campaign against major companies such as Budweiser and Disney over the last year because of what they have described as "woke" policies and programs.
