A group of 13 Republican attorneys general on Thursday warned Fortune 100 companies that they could be hit with legal action for using race-based preferences in hiring, promotions and contracting after the Supreme Court rejected race-conscious admissions at colleges.
"As the Supreme Court recently emphasized, both our Constitution and our civil rights laws guarantee every American the right to be free from racial discrimination," Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, one of the AGs leading the effort, said in a release.
"The Court's reasoning means that companies, no matter their motivation, cannot treat people differently based on the color of their skin. Corporate America continues to have many avenues to help disadvantaged people and communities of all races without resorting to crude racial line-drawing."
The group sent a letter Thursday to the Fortune 100 companies, including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Johnson & Johnson.
"The Supreme Court's recent decision should place every employer and contractor on notice of the illegality of racial quotas and race-based preferences in employment and contracting practices," the signatories said.
"We urge you to immediately cease any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences your company has adopted for its employment and contracting practices," the letter said. "If you choose not to do so, know that you will be held accountable."
The Court's decision effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.