The Justice Department has announced it is investigating the University of California (UC) for alleged Title VII discrimination violations in its hiring practices.

The agency announced Thursday that its Civil Rights Division is looking into the university’s individual campuses regarding potential race- and sex-based discrimination in employment practices.

The university’s «UC 2030 Capacity Plan» directs its campuses to hire «diverse» faculty members to meet race- and sex-based employment quotas, the Justice Department said.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, LAW JOURNAL SUED FOR ALLEGEDLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST STRAIGHT WHITE MALES 

«These initiatives openly measure new hires by their race and sex, which potentially runs afoul of federal law,» the Justice Department said in a press release. 

«The Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section will investigate whether the University of California is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, sex, and other protected characteristics, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.»

Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said.

«Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination,» Dhillon said. «Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law.»

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote to the university on Thursday, informing it of the investigation. 

«Our investigation is based on information suggesting that the University of California may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race and sex in violation of Title VII,» the letter reads. 

«Specifically, we have reason to believe the University of California’s ‘UC 2030 Capacity Plan’ precipitated unlawful action by the University of California and some or all its constituent campuses.»

In March, UC dropped diversity statements from its hiring practices amid President Donald Trump’s threats that schools could lose federal funding. (iStock)

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UC said it will work in good faith with the Justice Department as it conducts its investigation.

«The University of California is committed to fair and lawful processes in all of our programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws,» a UC statement provided to Fox News Digital reads. «The University also aims to foster a campus environment where everyone is welcomed and supported.»

The university’s UC 2030 Capacity Plan lays out a goal of becoming a national model as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) system. The plan outlines a pipeline strategy to diversify faculty and researchers through expanded graduate enrollment and outreach to institutions that serve underrepresented students. The DOJ, however, claims these initiatives may violate Title VII by functioning as de facto employment quotas.

In March, UC dropped diversity statements from its hiring practices amid President Donald Trump’s threats that schools could lose federal funding. 

The university’s provost, Katherine S. Newman, sent out a letter to the system’s leaders informing them that diversity statements are no longer required for new applicants. Newman wrote that while some programs and departments have required them, the university has never had a policy of diversity statements and believes it could harm applicant evaluation.

University of California, Berkeley entrance sign on the corner of Oxford Street and Center Street. (iStock)

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«The requirement to submit a diversity statement may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience,» the letter obtained by Fox News Digital reads.

She added that employees and applicants can still reference accomplishments related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on their own, but requiring stand-alone diversity statements is no longer permitted. 

Fox News’ David Spunt and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi admitted in an interview on state TV that the U.S.’s strikes caused serious damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities, despite Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s insistence that there was minimal impact.

Araghchi said in the interview that «the level of damage is high, and it’s serious damage,» according to the Associated Press.

Post-strike assessments have shown that Iran’s nuclear sites suffered damage in both U.S. and Israeli attacks. All three countries — Iran, Israel and the U.S. — have reached similar conclusions about the extent of the damage, despite what a leaked intel report indicated.

IRAN, ISRAEL AND US AGREE THAT ISLAMIC REPUBLIC NUCLEAR SITES WERE ‘BADLY DAMAGED’ DESPITE LEAKED INTEL REPORT

The only leader who seemingly does not agree with the assessments is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that «the Americans failed to achieve anything significant in their attack on nuclear facilities,» according to reports. 

Khamenei appears to be more focused on projecting strength than reflecting reality. He described Iran’s attack on Al-Udeid, the American airbase in Qatar, as a «heavy slap to the U.S.’s face.» While President Donald Trump dismissed it as a «very weak response» and thanked Iran for giving the U.S. «early notice.»

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement on Tuesday that the agency had «seen extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran, including its uranium conversion and enrichment facilities.»

This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment site at Fordo following U.S. airstrikes targeting the facility, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

IRAN TRYING TO ‘SAVE FACE’ FOLLOWING US STRIKE ON NUCLEAR SITES, EXPERT SAYS

In addition to discussing the damage done to Iran’s nuclear sites, Araghchi also addressed the possibility of resuming talks with the U.S. He said that the American strikes «made it more complicated and more difficult» for Iran to come to the table, but did not rule out the possibility that negotiations could resume.

Nuclear talks with the U.S. might not be entirely off the table for Iran after last week’s strikes—even if Tehran is not interested in reentering negotiations right away.

The possibility of negotiations was already in question prior to Operation Midnight Hammer, as Tehran viewed the U.S. as being «complicit» in Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, according to Reuters, citing Iranian U.N. Ambassador Ali Bahreini.

US Vice President JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, during an address to the nation in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 21, 2025.  (Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

EX-SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE CALLS US STRIKES ON IRAN A ‘SHOT IN THE ARM’ FOR AMERICAN CREDIBILITY

Trump on Wednesday expressed optimism in the U.S.’s ability to resume nuclear talks with Iran.

«We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war. They fought. Now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. The only thing we would be asking for is what we’re asking for before about, we want no nuclear [program]. But we destroyed the nuclear,» Trump said. 

Despite Trump’s statement, there is still no clear indication that the countries have plans to meet in the near future.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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