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By Sara Merken
(Reuters) - Attorneys general from 12 Republican-led U.S. states sent letters on Thursday to 20 major law firms demanding information about their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employment practices, building on a similar request to the same firms by the U.S. agency that enforces federal laws banning workplace discrimination.
Andrea Lucas, acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, warned last month that the firms' employment policies related to DEI may be illegal.
The letters, sent by a group of states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, said that information in the EEOC's request "indicates that your firm may have acted in violation" of federal and state law.
Two of the law firms named in the letter, Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, were also targeted by Republican President Donald Trump in executive orders that focused partly on their DEI policies.
Perkins Coie and WilmerHale have sued to challenge Trump's actions. Five other firms, including Skadden Arps and Milbank, have reached deals with Trump since targeting the legal industry, agreeing in part to adopt only merit-based employment practices.
Representatives from those firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"The blatantly illegal employment discrimination perpetuated by law firms and other businesses under un-American DEI ideology must be brought to an immediate and permanent end," Paxton said in a statement.
The attorneys general said that the firms should comply with the EEOC's request for information and send the same details to the states by April 15.
Lucas said that some of the firms had publicly touted their commitment to diversifying their workforces and at least two had adopted explicit numerical goals for recruiting lawyers based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The EEOC's letter asked the law firms for information about the internships, scholarships and fellowships they offer to law students and their hiring and compensation practices, along with other detailed demographic information.
(Reporting by Sara Merken; Editing by David Bario and Mark Porter)
