McDonald’s has been slapped with a lawsuit over a $33 million scholarship scheme for Latino and Hispanic students, that accuses it of unlawfully discriminating against other groups.
American Alliance for Equal Rights, a conservative group, filed papers against the burger giant’s HACER program, which dishes out grants of up to $100,000 to 30 Latino students each year.
It’s the latest blockbuster lawsuit aimed at ending so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in American schools, colleges, and businesses.
It comes after McDonald’s last week became the latest corporate titan to scrap some DEI efforts in the face of a conservative backlash, by ending diversity quotas and other steps.
McDonald’s did not answer DailyMail.com’s request for comment, but is understood to be reviewing the complaint.
DEI is a battlefront between progressives, who say it helps women and minorities get ahead in education, and conservatives, who say it amounts to reverse discrimination against white men.
The lawsuit is led by Edward Blum, the conservative legal activist who in 2023 persuaded the Supreme Court to reject affirmative action at US colleges and universities.
‘It is our hope that McDonald’s immediately pauses this scholarship program so it can be opened to all under-resourced high school students regardless of their ethnic heritage,’ Blum said.
The burger giant’s HACER National Scholarships Program has doled out more than $33 million in college scholarships to Hispanic and Latino students
Edward Blum, the conservative activist who persuaded the Supreme Court to end affirmative action in US colleges, says the scholarships discriminate against non-Latinos
Since its launch in 1985, McDonald’s says its HACER National Scholarships Program has doled out more than $33 million in college scholarships to Hispanic and Latino students.
Up to 30 schools receive up to $100,000 through the program each year.
Blum’s group says that by restricting eligibility to students who have at least one parent of Hispanic or Latino heritage, the scheme discriminates against other students.
That includes one of his group’s members, a white high school student in Arkansas.
This violates Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a Civil War-era law that bars racial bias in contracting, says the complaint.
The 20-page document asks a judge to issue an injunction blocking McDonald’s from considering the race and ethnicity of scholarship applicants.
McDonald’s in a statement said it was reviewing the complaint.
It added that as part of its announcement last week about changes to its DEI efforts, it was reviewing programs to ensure they ‘align with our vision moving forward.’
The Chicago-based firm on January 6 said it was scrapping some DEI efforts, including its diversity targets for executives, citing a ‘shifting legal landscape’ in the US.
Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, and others have similarly axed DEI work under pressure from conservative activists.
The HACER program dishes out grants of up to $100,000 to 30 Latino students each year
McDonald’s scrapped some DEI schemes earlier this month, but critics say it did not go far enough
But Blum slammed McDonald’s for not going far enough and said its proclaimed rollback was ‘little more than a public relations exercise.’
‘When corporations say they will replace controversial and polarizing programs with more neutral ones, it does not always mean the company has undergone any meaningful changes,’ Blum said.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has taken the credit for the ‘first corporate flip of 2025’ that saw McDonald’s dump DEI policies
‘It is astonishing that after what McDonald’s describes as a comprehensive civil-rights audit of its programs and policies, the Hispanic-only HACER scholarship was not flagged for likely being a violation of our nation’s civil rights laws.’
Corporate America stepped up its focus on diversity initiatives after widespread protests following the police killings of George Floyd and other black Americans in 2020.
But some companies have backtracked recently over pressure from conservative legal groups, which have relentlessly targeted corporate diversity efforts as ‘woke overreach.’
For some, DEI schemes are important and necessary, as they can help to overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to get ahead in education and work.
Critics say it’s a form of reverse discrimination that unfairly blows back on straight, white men.
Others say DEI schemes may be well-intentioned, but seldom achieve their desired goals and often make things worse by stirring up divisions in lecture halls and offices.
President-elect Donald Trump, who during his election campaign cooked up fries at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, is a vocal critic of DEI.
McDonald’s last week said it was ending some of its DEI practices
McDonald’s message to franchise owners said the company remains committed to inclusion and would continue to ’embed inclusion practices’ in its operations
Conservative political commentator Robby Starbuck threatened consumer boycotts of prominent consumer brands that don’t retreat from their diversity programs
He tapped Stephen Miller, a former adviser who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies, as his incoming deputy chief of policy.
Vice President-elect JD Vance introduced a bill in the Senate last summer to end such programs in the federal government.
Conservative political commentator Robby Starbuck has threatened consumer boycotts of prominent consumer brands that don’t retreat from their diversity programs, said on X that he recently told McDonald’s he would be doing a story on its ‘woke policies.’