Dia Harris Sues HHS Over DEI Firing, Seeking Reinstatement and Back Pay
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 10
Dia Harris Sues HHS Over DEI Firing, Seeking Reinstatement and Back Pay
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 10
Summary
Dia Harris, 53, filed a wrongful-firing lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleging HHS illegally discriminated against him when it dismissed him during the Trump administration’s anti-DEI purge.
Harris had served as chief equity officer at the Administration for Children and Families and was placed on administrative leave days after Trump ordered agencies to eliminate DEI jobs and programs; he was fired last summer.
The suit says Harris, who is Black, was singled out while most White colleagues doing similar work kept their federal jobs, framing the dismissal as a civil-rights violation rather than a routine restructuring.
Harris is seeking reinstatement and back pay. The complaint names HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; HHS declined to comment on active litigation while the White House defended the broader DEI rollback.