Andrea Lucas, the woman who runs the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, posted a short message on social media that lit up phones across the country.
She asked white men to step forward if they have ever lost a promotion, been fired, or pushed aside at work because of their race or sex.
“Federal law protects everyone,” she wrote, “and money damages may be waiting if you file a claim.”
The words were plain, but the reaction was loud, because it is rare for the nation’s top civil-rights watchdog to single out one group and invite complaints from them.
Lucas has long argued that diversity programs can tip into reverse bias, and her post arrived just minutes after Vice President JD Vance shared an article attacking “the evil of DEI.”
She replied to Vance with heat, saying elites “celebrated” illegal discrimination when it hurt white men.
Supporters praised her for restoring balance, while critics warned she is turning the agency into a culture-war weapon.
Either way, the tweet was viewed millions of times, and the EEOC phone line started ringing early the next morning.
Inside the agency, career staff say they are ready to take any valid charge, but some worry the chair’s tone sounds more like activism than neutral enforcement.
Federal law bans discrimination against anyone, yet the commission’s own data show the vast majority of race and sex claims still come from women and people of color.
Lucas counters that under-reporting is the problem; if white men feel shut up by shame, the only way to know the true scope is to urge them to speak.
She attached a fact sheet titled “DEI-related discrimination” that lists examples: a qualified worker skipped for a less-experienced candidate to hit a demographic target, or a training session that openly denigrates “white male culture.”
Employers are now scrambling to review their diversity plans, afraid a stray memo could become Exhibit A in a new lawsuit.
Some HR lawyers advise clients to drop any mention of race or gender from hiring goals, while civil-rights groups fear the call will flood the system with weak claims meant to clog progress.
Workers themselves are split: one mechanic in Ohio says he was passed over twice while lesser-qualified women were praised for “adding color,” but a teacher in Georgia rolls her eyes and says the post is “red-meat politics” that ignores real, historic bias.
Lucas insists she is only enforcing the law as written, not picking sides.
Yet every time she hits send, the public debate grows hotter, and the meaning of “equal opportunity” feels more contested than ever.
For now, the message is simple: if you believe you lost a job because you are a white man, the federal agency wants to hear your story, and it is ready to write you a check if the facts back you up.
