The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked a federal court Wednesday to enforce an administrative subpoena against Nike as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged discrimination against White employees, job applicants and training program participants.
According to a filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, EEOC issued the subpoena last September following three separate requests for information from Nike pursuant to a 2024 commissioner’s charge filed by the agency’s current leader, Chair Andrea Lucas.
Lucas cited the company’s public documents and statements — including language the company put forth about creating a “representative” workforce — as well as a Nike goal to fill 30% of the company’s director-level and above U.S. positions, and 35% of its total U.S. corporate workforce, with employees of racial and ethnic minorities by 2025.
In order to achieve those goals, Lucas alleged that Nike may have engaged in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees, job applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion and separation decisions, among others, in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
An EEOC official determined that Nike “failed to fully provide the information sought” by the agency, which included internal documentation such as employee records, descriptions of the company’s efforts to increase representation of racial and ethnic minorities, job descriptions for corporate and leadership positions and several other records.
The agency filed exhibits with the court including a Jan. 27 response by Nike to EEOC’s subpoena which raised several objections to the information request. Legal representatives for Nike wrote that EEOC’s requests were “broad, ambiguous, and unduly burdensome,” adding that the company agreed to provide documents and information on a rolling basis.
“[Nike] is willing and prepared to meet and confer regarding this Request should the EEOC determine additional information is needed for a complete response,” the company’s representatives added.
In an email, a Nike spokesperson told HR Dive that the company would respond to EEOC’s petition.
“This feels like a surprising and unusual escalation,” the spokesperson said. “We have had extensive, good-faith participation in an EEOC inquiry into our personnel practices, programs, and decisions and have had ongoing efforts to provide information and engage constructively with the agency. We have shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC’s inquiry and are in the process of providing additional information.”
The news follows similar requests made by Lucas and EEOC in recent months. In August 2025, EEOC asked a federal court to enforce two subpoenas against a New Mexico school district that asked for deposition testimony in an ongoing investigation of discrimination. Then, in November, EEOC did the same with respect to the University of Pennsylvania, which it claimed did not comply with the agency’s information requests. Both cases are ongoing.
Lucas has also said EEOC will target unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion programs and specifically called on White men to file charges with the commission in a social media video posted in December.