The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is poised to file a civil rights lawsuit against The New York Times, centered on the allegations of a white male employee who did not get a sought-after promotion and argued it was because of his race and gender, two people familiar with the matter said.

The lawsuit, which could be filed as early as this week, would mark a rapid escalation of an investigation that had been underway for months, said one of the people, who had been briefed on the investigation but was not able to discuss it publicly.

The E.E.O.C. is bound by strict laws against disclosing details of civil rights complaints and investigations. Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, called the allegations “politically motivated.”

It was not clear if the lawsuit would be brought on behalf of the original complainant or if the E.E.O.C. would bring the case as a broader civil rights claim, arguing that The Times’s employment practices, including diversity initiatives, amounted to unlawful discrimination against white men.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/business/economy/eeoc-discrimination-claim-new-york-times.html