McDonald’s is being sued over a program that grants scholarships to Latino students, a move that came days after the fast-food giant ditched some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights, which challenges race-based preference and discrimination, alleges the McDonald’s HACER program discriminates against certain high school students.
Last week, McDonald’s said it would adjust some of its DEI policies, which critics have deemed “woke.”
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“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,” AAER President Edward Blum said in a statement. “A corporate press release heralding changes in policies is often little more than a public relations exercise.”
“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,” he added.
The changes at McDonald’s include the scrapping of its “aspirational representation goals,” getting rid of its DEI pledge for its suppliers, changing the name of its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team and ending external surveys.
“But when McDonald’s expressed this new commitment to treat ‘everyone’ fairly, it didn’t mean everyone. Even after its civil-rights audit, McDonald’s has decided to continue a program that blatantly discriminates against high-schoolers based on their ethnicity,” the lawsuit states.
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McDonald’s said it began discussing the changes months ago, acknowledging that it was considering the legal landscape after the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling against affirmative action as well as similar moves by other companies.
FOX Business has reached out to the AAER and McDonald’s. Under the program, McDonald’s gives out $100,000 to 30 students with at least one parent of Hispanic or Latino heritage.
“We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and will respond to it accordingly. However, McDonald’s announced its evolution on our inclusion work last week, and part of that process will be reviewing programs, in partnership with our franchisees as applicable, to ensure these programs align with our vision moving forward,” the company said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The suit stemmed from an Arkansas high school girl who was looking for college scholarships, according to the lawsuit.
“McDonald’s, gives unusually large scholarships (up to $100,000) through a program called HACER. The catch? McDonald’s gives them only to Hispanics,” the lawsuit states. “As a non-Hispanic white girl, the Arkansan cannot apply. Despite her financial need. Despite her inability to choose or control her ethnic heritage.”
The AAER is asking a judge to issue a temporary injunction ahead of the company’s announcement of this year’s award in February.
FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
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