America First Legal (AFL), the conservative public interest law firm founded in 2021 by current White House official Stephen Miller, has filed a federal civil rights complaint against Penguin Random House with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission demanding “an investigation into apparent race- and sex-based discrimination in its hiring, promotion, and workforce development practices.”

“Despite claiming to support equal opportunity,” AFL said in a release, “PRH has seemingly embedded ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) ideology throughout its employment practices, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

In recent years, PRH has expressed a commitment to DEI and released annual demographics reports, which document what the publisher called its “journey toward greater representation.”

AFL noted in the release that the publisher “publicly tracks and publishes workforce demographics, compares ‘White versus BIPOC’ representation, sets race-focused hiring goals, and holds leadership accountable for achieving DEI outcomes”—all of which the law firm described as “race-based employment practices that federal law forbids.”

In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity,” which requires heads of agencies to encourage the private sector to end any DEI programs and policies.

The complaint, filed on December 16, asks the EEOC to investigate PRH’s “leadership accountability systems, DEI-driven hiring and promotion practices, talent development programs, supplier diversity initiatives, and Employee Resource Groups that may exclude or advantage employees based on their immutable characteristics.”

PRH is just the latest to be targeted by AFL. The group has previously filed more than 100 legal actions against other “woke” companies such as Disney, Nike, and Mattel for their DEI policies, which AFL alleges discriminate against white men.

A spokesperson for PRH denied that the publisher's DEI policies run afoul of any laws. “Penguin Random House maintains a strict policy prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal employment opportunity for all, regardless of race, sex, or any other protected characteristic,” the spokesperson said. “We are proud of our talented team of professionals and are confident that our employment practices comply with all applicable laws.”

This is not the first time PRH has been targeted by the political right. This fall, President Trump filed a lawsuit against PRH, as well as the New York Times, over its publication of Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success (Penguin Press), which is drawn from the reporting of two Times reporters.

Trump’s lawsuit—first filed in September, and then refiled in October after a judge called the initial complaint “improper and impermissible”—alleges that PRH, the Times, and the reporters sought to undermine the President’s 2024 election campaign and is seeking a minimum of $15 billion in damages.

A PRH spokesperson called the case “meritless” and said that the publisher “will continue to stand by the book and its authors just as we will continue to stand for the important fundamental principles of the First Amendment.” In fact, one day before the AFL filed its DEI complaint, PRH—along with the Times and authors—filed a motion asking the judge to either dismiss the case or move it from Tampa to the Southern District of New York.

Daniel Epstein, who is representing Trump in the Lucky Loser lawsuit, is a VP of AFL and has also represented Trump in other lawsuits, including cases against CBS and the recent case against the BBC, which was filed this Monday in Florida. During Trump's first term, Epstein served as a special assistant to the president.

While the AFL complaint does not address “the subject matter or content” that PRH publishes, the timing of the complaint following Trump’s lawsuit against PRH and the connections to Epstein seem more than a coincidence.