America First Legal hits Mars with civil rights complaint, cites candy giant's woke hiring, training practices
Conservative nonprofit's complaint against candy company is latest filed against alleged 'woke' corporations
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FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit law firm is filing a civil rights complaint against Mars, Inc., alleging the food company is engaging in discriminatory hiring and training practices.
America First Legal (AFL) sent a letter Wednesday to the Washington, D.C., field office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting an investigation into the candy giant for what it claims "are strong reasons to believe that Mars is intentionally and systemically violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by unlawfully conditioning hiring, promotion, and training on race, color, national origin, and/or sex."
Citing Mars' stated goal to "achieve gender balance across one hundred percent of its leadership teams" as well to ensure "leadership teams and Associate representation... reflect the race and ethnicities of the labor force in the markets in which it operates," AFL argued the company is effectively establishing quotas based on immutable characteristics in violation of Title VII.
AFL also claimed the company's "Commitment to Inclusion & Diversity" statement "demonstrates how deeply unlawful discrimination is embedded in Mars’s employment and contracting practices."
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AFL also claimed Mars' training opportunities are discriminatory, saying it provides "leadership development training" and "mentorship circles" open only to women.
"Mars’s discriminatory hiring and training programs are patently illegal and deeply harmful," AFL wrote. "Discrimination against job applicants or employees based on immutable characteristics such as race, color, national origin, or sex 'generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds.'"
M&M's are among the candy products produced by Mars Inc., which is facing a civil rights complaint from America First Legal. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
"With $45 billion in sales in 2022, Mars is a world-bestriding corporate behemoth and one of the largest food companies in the world" AFL said in a statement provided to FOX Business. "No one should be above the law, and Mars should be held to account for its unlawful discrimination. America First Legal will keep fighting to preserve our Constitution and to protect equal opportunity for all Americans."
"Mars is an equal opportunity employer – we do not engage in discriminatory employment practices. Inclusion and diversity have long been priorities for us, and we use lawful means to pursue our inclusion and diversity objectives," Mars Inc. said in a statement to FOX Business.
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Mars, Inc. has faced allegations of being "woke" because of its spokescandies, which were recently shelved. (Mars, Inc. / Fox News)
AFL's complaint against Mars, Inc. is the latest in a series of complaints filed by the firm's Center for Legal Equality against so-called "woke" corporations such as Anheuser-Busch, Hershey, Amazon, Starbucks, BlackRock and others for policies AFL alleges are discriminating against employees under the guise of "equity."
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AFL was founded in 2021 by former senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, who is also its president.