The definitions in our glossary are primarily sourced from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary and Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. We have made slight modifications where needed for brevity and to better tailor the definitions to the specific needs of users of this website. For more detailed explanations of the terms, users are encouraged to review the definitions on these websites or conduct their own independent research.
The Advancing DEI Initiative is a project of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, committed to making information on the intersection of law and DEI accessible to supporters of DEI.
This website offers resources, including a DEI litigation tracker, to orient users to the DEI legal landscape. The tracker captures lawsuits likely to affect workplace DEI practices.
What types of cases are occurring?
This diagram shows the distribution of anti-DEI cases across the United States, organized by federal circuit (a geographic area of the country defined by the federal court system). Each case is categorized according to the DEI program being challenged or the specific issues raised. Since some cases involve multiple issues, those cases may be categorized under several topics.
Hover over a topic to see which circuits are handling cases related to that topic. The weight of the lines shows the number of cases in each circuit addressing this topic, relative to other circuits. Alternatively, hover over a circuit to view the types of cases occurring there. The weight of the lines in this view represents the number of cases on each topic within that circuit, relative to other cases in the same circuit.
Where are the cases occurring?
Recognizing that each circuit may address specific DEI issues differently, this map enables users to observe the types of cases arising within a particular region and zoom in on cases of interest.
Use the map to highlight a circuit of interest, and click to view what types of DEI cases are being litigated in that region.
What are the cases about?
The section allows users to view the nationwide count of cases, focusing on the types of DEI initiatives being challenged or the issues raised by opponents of DEI.