ASU Professor Challenges DEI Training After Court Says He Can't Sue

An Arizona State University (ASU) professor is asking the state's highest court to let him challenge a workplace training he says violated Arizona law, after a lower court ruled he had no legal right to sue.

Professor Owen Anderson filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents in 2024 after being required to complete ASU's "Inclusive Communities" training. The training covered topics such as systemic bias, microaggressions, and workplace diversity.

According to Anderson's legal team at the Goldwater Institute, the training also included content on "white privilege," "transformative justice," and how to "critique whiteness."

Anderson argues the training violates an Arizona law that prohibits government employers from requiring employees to take training that teaches people to blame or judge others based on race, ethnicity, or sex.

ASU's DEI Program

ASU offers a variety of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs as part of its workplace culture initiatives. The mandatory "Inclusive Communities" training is part of a broader effort to create, as the university describes, an inclusive workplace environment.

According to ASU's website, the Culture and Inclusion team offers learning tracks called "Inclusive Pathways" and "Workplace Culture," which are designed to help employees understand diverse perspectives.

Furthermore, the training has included quizzes on concepts related to systemic inequality and identity.

The Legal Issue

However, the Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled that Anderson has no standing to challenge the training in court.

"Arizona State leaders broke the law when they forced me and every other employee to take part in an ideological training that taught that it's okay to judge people on their race, ethnicity, religion, and sex. I simply refuse to do that," Anderson said.

"Ultimately, the question before the Arizona Supreme Court isn't a left or right issue—it's about whether a state employee has the right to hold their employer accountable when it violates the law," he continued.

The Goldwater Institute is now asking the Arizona Supreme Court to review the case, arguing that a law becomes meaningless if the people it's designed to protect can't enforce it.

The legal question arises whether state employees have the right to sue when they believe their employer has violated state law regarding workplace training requirements.

The case now awaits the Arizona Supreme Court's decision on whether to hear Anderson's appeal.