Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a coalition of 17 states urging a federal appeals court to revive a lawsuit alleging that mandatory workplace diversity training discriminated against white employees.
The case, Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections, involves Joshua Young, a former correctional officer who says DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) sessions at the Colorado agency created a racially hostile work environment. Young claims the training labeled white people as inherently racist and made him feel unsafe enough to resign.
In an amicus brief filed with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Knudsen and attorneys general from 16 other states argue the training violated federal civil rights laws and promoted racial division. They assert that even limited exposure to DEI content grounded in race-based assumptions can foster a hostile workplace.
“When employers train their employees to treat people differently based on race—or to believe certain races possess inherently negative traits—hostility and division in the workplace increase,” Knudsen wrote.
The brief cites Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination, and argues that the DEI materials contradict constitutional protections of equal treatment under the law. The coalition claims the training portrayed all white employees as complicit in racism and dismissed any objection as “fragility.”
Young is asking the court to recognize a violation of his civil rights, stop the use of the training materials, and order his reinstatement.
Joining Montana in the legal challenge are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and the Arizona Legislature.
