Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has warned state agency leaders and public universities this week that it is illegal to use diversity, equity, and inclusion policies — policies that support groups that have been discriminated against or underrepresented historically — in hiring.

The Texas Tribune obtained Monday’s memo from Abbott’s chief staffer, Gardner Pate, which stated that the use of DEI policies is against federal and state employment laws and that hiring can not be based on “other than merit.”

Pate claimed that DEI initiatives discriminate against certain demographics, but he didn’t specify which.

Pate wrote that “the innocuous-sounding idea of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has been manipulated to push for policies that expressly favor certain demographic groups to the exclusion of others.”

Policies that provide guidance for workplaces, government offices, and colleges campuses are called diversity, equity, and inclusion. They aim to promote fair treatment of groups that have been subject to discrimination in the past and to encourage greater representation. Resources for underrepresented groups can be included in DEI policies. This could include veterans, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people. It can be used to set diversity goals and thresholds for hiring. This will ensure that diverse candidates are interviewed. Many universities have DEI offices that help students of color and non-traditional students to stay in school and graduate.

Republican leaders are making the governor’s directive a new effort to fight back against academic policies that Republicans across the country consider “woke.” DEI and critical race theory have become targets of conservatives who claim that white people are unfairly treated in schools and at work.

Pate stated that “rebranding this employment discrimination under ‘DEI” doesn’t make it any less illegal.” Further, when a state agency uses taxpayer money to fund offices, department, or employee positions that promote prohibited DEI initiatives, it is also in violation of the law.”

Multiple requests for comment were not answered by Abbott’s office.

Andrew Eckhous is an Austin-based attorney for Kaplan Law Firm. He said that the governor’s office “completely mischaracterizes DEI’s role as an employment decision maker” in an apparent attempt block initiatives to improve diversity.

Eckhous stated in an email that anti-discrimination laws protect all Americans. They prevent employers from making hiring decisions based upon race, religion, gender. DEI initiatives work in conjunction with those laws to encourage companies soliciting applications from a wide variety of applicants. This is legal and beneficial.

“The only news in this letter was that Governor Abbott tried to stop diversity initiatives to the apparent benefit of an unnamed demographic, which he refused to reveal,” he said.

Pate’s letter refers to federal and state antidiscrimination laws for the reasons why DEI initiatives are illegal. These laws were largely created in response to discrimination that has been going on for many decades.

President Lyndon B. Johnson banned discrimination in employment based upon race, sex and religion as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This was at a time when Black Americans were exempted from higher-wage jobs that were based on their race.

State leaders across the country, including Florida Governor, decried DEI offices and their efforts on college campuses. Ron DeSantis deplored the DEI offices’ efforts on college campuses and argued that their efforts are an attempt to impose “woke liberal ideas” on students.

The Manhattan Institute and Goldwater Institute are two conservative think tanks that published recently a legislative roadmap to assist state legislatures in “abolishing DEI bureaucracies” at higher education. This is the same blueprint DeSantis used to create his agenda.

Texas’ Lt. Governor. Dan Patrick was more critical of liberal education at public universities and proposed to end tenure and limit conversations about race or racism in college classrooms.

State Rep. Carl Tepper (R-Lubbock) filed a bill that would prohibit state funding for “any office or organization of diversity, equity and inclusion” or any office that supports DEI goals.