Second Circuit Revives DEI Challenge to Pfizer Fellowship


A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit challenging Pfizer Inc.‘s fellowship program aimed at building a diverse workforce, saying that a trial judge applied the wrong standard in assessing whether the challenger had legal standing to sue.

A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last year had initially upheld the trial judge’s ruling that Do No Harm—an advocacy group of health-care professionals, students, and policy makers who said the program is discriminatory—failed to identify any individual members who allegedly were harmed by the policy.

Second Circuit precedent requires the members to provide sufficient evidence to show they were ready to apply to the program, but the organization fell short of doing that, that panel said in March 2024.

On panel rehearing, the Second Circuit on Friday withdrew that opinion.

“We conclude that the district court applied the wrong standard in assessing Do No Harm’s standing for purposes of dismissal,” it said.

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