Global biotechnology, life sciences and diagnostics conglomerate Danaher Corp. allegedly maintains a DEI policy that systematically discriminates against qualified White men through hiring-related quotas favoring women and people of color, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Sept. 15.
Per the complaint in Critelli v. Danaher Corp., the two named plaintiffs are White male engineers over 40 who worked for Pall Corp., a Danaher subsidiary, in various management positions at Pall’s facility in Deland, Florida.
According to the plaintiffs, Danaher’s DEI policy allegedly applies to all subsidiaries and requires that 50% of candidates interviewed for open positions be women or people of color, whom Danaher refers to as “underrepresented.” For open management positions, women and POC allegedly comprise less than 50% of the qualified applicants, the complaint said.
To meet its goal, Danaher allegedly modifies job descriptions and job requirements so that female or POC applicants don’t have to meet the same requirements as White or male applicants, the lawsuit asserted. The conglomerate also allegedly ties manager performance and compensation to meeting its DEI objectives.
To satisfy DEI quotas, the complaint alleged, Danaher artificially populates interview pools with female candidates and POC. As a result, hiring managers allegedly have limited ability to make merit-based selections.
The plaintiffs claimed that between 2021 and 2025, they applied for various promotions into management positions for which they were qualified. They alleged they were denied interviews for nearly all of these positions, despite less qualified applicants receiving interviews, due to the DEI quotas and because they were over 40.
They sued Danaher and Pall for allegedly violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Danaher told HR Dive in an email it does not comment on pending litigation.
Over the past two years, employers have faced intense backlash against DEI programs, pushed on by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 holding that race-conscious college admissions are unconstitutional and the Trump administration’s executive order targeting “illegal DEI” in the private sector.
In keeping with this directive, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released guidance in March emphasizing that adopting a DEI program “does not change longstanding legal prohibitions against the use of race, sex, and other protected characteristics in employment.”
To avoid federal ire, employers should remember they can’t provide preferences based on race, sex or other protected characters to make employment decisions, such as hiring and promotions, attorney Jonathan Segal, a partner with Duane Morris, pointed out in an August op-ed to HR Dive.
“This means no quotas, set asides or ‘plus’ factors. The law is clear that there is no ‘diversity’ exception to unlawful discrimination,” Segal wrote. He also said employers should focus on merit, not demographic diversity, including when it comes to recruiting.
