Dallas entrepreneur Mark Cuban was left silent after a member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission called him out on social media over his legal misunderstanding regarding “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Cuban was debating the merits of DEI on social media over the weekend – something he does fairly often – before quietly leaving the conversation after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Andrea Lucas laid down the law for him.
“I’ve never hired anyone based exclusively on race, gender, religion,” said Cuban. “I only ever hire the person that will put my business in the best position to succeed. And yes, race and gender can be part of the equation. I view diversity as a competitive advantage,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, you’re dead wrong on black-letter Title VII law,” wrote Lucas in response to a post by Cuban. “As a general rule, race/sex can’t even be a “motivating factor” — nor a plus factor, tie-breaker, or tipping point. It’s important employers understand the ground rules here.”
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees and job applicants based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Cuban promptly stopped defending his position and abandoned the social media thread once Lucas clarified the law for him.
“Weird. Suddenly [Cuban] is silent here. [C]rickets …” wrote social media user @ax123man.
DEI has been hotly debated in recent years, with Cuban regularly leading the charge in support of hiring based on characteristics like race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
While Cuban regularly speaks about the benefits that a diverse workforce brings to his companies, many social media users have accused him of being disingenuous for DEI-based hiring practices instead of hiring based on a colorblind meritocracy.
