EXCLUSIVE: America First Legal (AFL) has announced it has submitted a formal request to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for a federal probe into Penguin Random House. The request is based on allegations that the publisher engages in unlawful employment practices related to race and gender, as outlined in their publicly accessible diversity, equity, and inclusion framework.

In a letter dated December 16, 2025, and addressed to EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas, the America First Legal Foundation urged the commission to issue a “Commissioner Charge” and initiate an investigation into Penguin Random House, LLC (PRH) according to EEOC guidelines.

The AFL contends that PRH’s approach to recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, and workforce development discriminates against prospective and current employees based on “race, color, sex, and national origin.” They argue that such strategies violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“It seems Penguin Random House is tailoring its workforce by race and sex under the guise of ‘more inclusive business practices’,” stated Bobby Crossin, an attorney with America First Legal. “The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in any guise, regardless of current trends.”

Penguin Random House’s book titles are prominently displayed at the publisher’s booth during the London Book Fair, held at the Olympia Exhibition Centre on March 12, 2025, in London, England. (John Keeble/Getty Images)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin and other protected characteristics. The agency has authority to investigate complaints, request employer records and refer matters to the Department of Justice.

America First Legal claims in its letter that PRH’s policies “appear to be designed to exclude white men,” arguing “this is unlawful.”

The letter points to PRH’s public-facing DEI materials, including a page titled “Our Approach to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion,” and a set of “five pillars” AFL says demonstrate the company’s use of protected characteristics in employment decisions. 

Penguin Random House publicly describes its hiring and workforce strategy as explicitly tied to demographic representation. On its website, the company says it is working to “cultivate a diverse workforce that represents the society we live in,” adding that it releases annual workforce demographic data to track progress.

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial CEO for Spain, Portugal and Latin America, Nuria Cabuti, visits Penguin Random House’s new distribution center on the day of its inauguration on March 24, 2025, in Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. (David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images)

PRH also says it holds leaders accountable for implementing its “DEI vision,” including “setting goals” and “achieving results,” and that it integrates “DEI principles into talent development and retention efforts,” according to the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page.

The company also has a full-time executive vice president for “strategy for diversity, equity & inclusion” listed on their U.S. Board page.

AFL also cited PRH’s public reporting of workforce demographics, including a comparison of “white versus BIPOC employees,” and statements about hiring and leadership diversity. 

The letter quotes language attributed to PRH materials that includes: “The percentage of Black new hires is now beginning to trend upward after significant dips in 2022 and 2023. Overall, we have not yet achieved and maintained our new hire demographic goals, and the continued importance of our targeted recruitment and outreach efforts cannot be overstated.”

Visitors to the Leipzig Book Fair take a look around the Penguin Random House stand. Until March 30, 2025, 2,040 exhibitors from 45 countries will be presenting the new products of this book spring. The motto of this year’s fair is “Words move worlds.” This year’s guest country is Norway. (Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

AFL further alleged PRH’s job postings include equal employment opportunity language while the company’s broader DEI materials “belie this rhetoric,” writing that PRH “maintains desired workforce demographics, compares White versus BIPOC representation, and promotes employment development through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Councils,” which AFL said the EEOC has warned “may violate federal law.”

In the letter, AFL asked the EEOC to investigate, among other things, how PRH “hold[s] leaders accountable for implementing PRH’s DEI vision,” how it “integrate[s] DEI principles into talent development and retention efforts,” whether it operates a “supplier diversity program,” and whether it operates employee resource groups “that exclude employees on the basis of protected characteristics or that limit opportunities to preferred races or sexes.”

According to a release from Publisher’s Weekly, Penguin Random House brought in more than $5B in 2024, with an 8.5% sales increase from 2023.

America First Legal concluded their letter by asking for the commission to take “appropriate enforcement action” if it determines any practices violate the law. Their filing does not address “the subject matter or content” PRH publishes, the letter said, but focuses on the company’s employment practices.

Fox News Digital reached out to the EEOC and Penguin Random House for comment and will update this story if responses are received.