Anheuser-Busch: Bud Light owner faces civil rights complaint for 'racist and sexist' hiring practices amid Dylan Mulvaney backlash
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Anheuser-Busch is facing a civil rights complaint alleging that it engages in discriminatory hiring and job training programs for women and minorities. The complaint was filed by America First Legal (AFL), which is led by former senior members of the Trump administration. The AFL claims that the world's largest brewing company uses the "cloak of equity" to "proudly discriminate based on race, color, national origin, and sex in their employment practices." The complaint was sent to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
These allegations have come at a time when Anheuser-Busch is already facing backlash over a Bud Light promotion featuring trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, leading to criticism from rockers like Kid Rock and other artists, who are boycotting the beer and its parent company. Mulvaney's involvement in the campaign has reduced Anheuser-Busch's share value by $6 billion. In response, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth released a public statement on Friday, April 14, 2023, stating, "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer."
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What is the AFL civil rights complaint?
AFL, whose president and CEO is former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, sent a complaint letter to St Louis, Missouri office for EEOC, requesting an investigation into Anheuser-Busch's programs over its discriminatory employment services. One is the Leadership Accelerator Program, which advertises that it provides "formal mentorship, executive interaction, and leadership development curriculum for those who identify with historically underrepresented groups as they join our organization in a full-time capacity." The program only seeks people of Black, Native American, and Latino origins to apply.
"This is not a regular corporate program rather, the company describes the role as focusing on 'hiring the next generation of leaders within the North American Sustainability and Procurement department," the AFL letter reads.
"In other words, it is a fast-track program to executive leadership positions at Anheuser- Busch and it is limited to candidates based on race. The proforma Equal Opportunity Employer language at the end of the posting does mask the company's discriminatory intent and purpose," it further states, as per Daily Mail.
Anheuser-Busch accused of 'racist and sexist' hiring practices
Anheuser-Busch also promotes a race-based scholarship and internship program under Budweiser in partnership with the United Negro College Fund that "supports 25 Black college students" interested in working in the brewing industry. AFL's civil rights complaint alleges that these programs are unlawful because "Anheuser-Busch is a publicly traded corporation" that is engaged in discriminating against certain ethnicities and races when it comes to their employment offers.
"The evidence is that Anheuser-Busch is knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully discriminating based on race, color, national origin, and sex with respect to employment and job training opportunities," the letter alleges, as per the source.