The company organized an employee networking function that excluded men, a US civil rights agency has claimed
A Coca-Cola distributor is facing sex discrimination allegations following a corporate networking event that excluded men, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced.
The case marks the agency’s first lawsuit over workplace diversity-focused programs since President Donald Trump took office, and the first one to claim that events of the kind are unlawful.
In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the regulator stated that Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast violated federal law when it hosted a two-day women-only event for about 250 employees at a casino in Connecticut in September 2024.
“Coca-Cola Northeast privately invited female employees and then excused the female employees, who attended the event from their normal work duties on September 10 and 11, 2024, and paid them their normal salary or wages without requiring them to use vacation or other paid time off,” the suit reads, highlighting that the company did not invite any male employees to the event.
Coca-Cola Northeast, which is owned by Japanese Kirin Holdings, has not commented on the lawsuit. Coca-Cola multinational is not a defendant in the case.
Shortly after assuming office in early 2025, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at eliminating diversity, equity ,and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, describing them as “radical,” within the federal government, its contractors, and grantees.
Many companies, including Walt Disney, JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, and Google, have faced similar criticisms and legal challenges and since scaled back or entirely abandoned their DEI programs.
Earlier this month, the EEOC launched an investigation into whether sportswear giant Nike discriminated against white employees.
