The New York Times allegedly discriminated against a white man by passing him over for a promotion in favor of a minority, to advance its goal of more diversity among its leadership, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a lawsuit on May 5.
The paper has for years published annual reports breaking down staff, leadership, and new hires by sex and race. The reports outline goals such as hiring and promoting more minorities.
In October 2024, The New York Times posted a job opening for a deputy real estate editor, part of the leadership team. A white male who had worked for the paper as an editor since 2014 applied for the position. His considerable experience with news, including real estate news, included editor-in-chief of multi-housing news at Nielsen Company, and he met all the requirements outlined in the posting, the lawsuit stated.
The paper interviewed the man, who has not been publicly identified, but declined to advance him to a final interview or promote him. None of the final candidates was a white male.
Managers ended up hiring a multiracial woman who had no real estate journalism experience, which meant she did not meet the posted requirements.
The commission alleged that, based on public statements from those responsible for hiring, the managers were influenced by the company's goals of hiring and promoting based on race and sex.
That violated federal employment law, which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race or sex, according to the government.
The commission said it attempted to reach an agreement with The New York Times, but the paper declined to agree to a conciliation pact, prompting the lawsuit.
The suit, filed in federal court in New York, asks the court to enjoin The New York Times from discriminating against employees due to race or sex, to make the paper take steps to remedy the effects of its allegedly illegal employment practices, to give backpay and other relief to the white male, and to either place him in a deputy editor position or give him additional funds.
New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha told The Epoch Times in an email that the paper rejects the allegations in the complaint.
"Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world," Ha said. "We will defend ourselves vigorously."