California EPA under investigation for diversity practices

The Department of Justice is looking into a policy intended to advance racial equity.

- BY HAYLEY SMITH

SEAN GALLUP Getty Images
YANA GARCIA, left, leads the California Environmental Protection Agency.

The Trump administration this week announced it is opening an investigation into the California Environmental Protection Agency, including the powerful California Air Resources Board, over potentially discriminatory employment practices.

In a notice addressed to CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia, the Department of Justice said its investigation will determine whether the state agency is "engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, color, sex, and national origin" in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

"In publicly available guidance documents, CalEPA highlights 'hiring, promotion and retention practices and policies' that indicate it may be using protected characteristics to 'advance racial equity," the Justice Department wrote in a news release accompanying the notice. "Further, CARB, a division of CalEPA, appears to use these policies to engage in discriminatory employment practices in its 'Racial Equity Framework,' which aims to advance race-based decision-making within the agency."