A federal judge has ruled that a group of White male employees can proceed with their lawsuit against Danaher Corp., alleging the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies discriminated against them based on race and sex. The decision, issued Friday, allows the case to move forward after Danaher sought to dismiss it.
Plaintiffs in Critelli v. Danaher Corp. first claimed in a September 2025 complaint that the life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology company required diverse interview slates. They claimed the company’s policies required diverse interview slates, aiming for 50% underrepresented candidates, including women and people of color. These practices, they argued, violated federal civil rights laws and state statutes.
Judge Finds Merit in Discrimination Claims
Judge Anne Leigh Gaylord Moe of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida partly denied Danaher’s motion to dismiss. Moe noted that four plaintiffs successfully showed that they were rejected in favor of less-qualified applications because of the company’s DEI policy. According to the ruling, Danaher allegedly loosened job requirements for underrepresented candidates, shortlisted those candidates for interviews and tied talent acquisition employees’ performance evaluations and pay to meet DEI goals.
“White men are effectively second-class candidates, even if they are more qualified,” Moe stated, addressing the plaintiffs’ claims. She also rejected Danaher’s argument that the plaintiffs were speculating about the reasons for their rejection, noting it would be illogical to engineer diverse hiring slates without knowing candidates’ demographics.
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Mixed Outcomes for Plaintiffs
While The judge agreed to dismiss one plaintiff’s race discrimination claim while refusing to dismiss his sex discrimination claim. One plaintiff’s race discrimination claim was dismissed, though his sex discrimination claim remains. Another plaintiff’s claims were dismissed for failure to state a claim, though he was granted leave to amend his complaint.
Discrimination lawsuits filed by majority-group plaintiffs, sometimes referred to as reverse discrimination lawsuits, have gained increasing prominence in the employment space in recent years. Similar lawsuits have been filed against other companies, including a high-profile case against Wells Fargo that settled for $85 million.
Discrimination claims against other forms of DEI programming have met with mixed results for plaintiffs. For example, a Pennsylvania federal judge partly sided with a White former HR employee who alleged racial hostility, while the 10th Circuit ruled against a White corrections officer who claimed DEI training created a hostile work environment.
