Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier warned companies operating in the Sunshine State that “some free speech rights” won’t protect them from lawsuits if they support diversity, equity, and inclusion or environmental, social, and governance initiatives.
Uthmeier argued during a Fox News Digital interview that many DEI and ESG policies are discriminatory, fail to reflect equal justice under the law, and violate Florida’s civil rights code.
Uthmeier’s warning comes after he banned law firms supporting DEI and ESG from serving as outside counsel to the attorney general’s office earlier this month. He previously filed a lawsuit against Target, alleging it failed to inform investors about the possible political and social risks that could arise as a result of its ESG and DEI policies that “culminated” in the company’s controversial 2023 LGBTQ campaign.
He highlighted the state’s lawsuit against Target on Wednesday, warning companies that similar actions could be coming if they follow the same path. Uthmeier defended going after businesses, arguing they hold a “fiduciary duty” to Florida investors and should be held “accountable.”
“We’re going to hold companies like this accountable. If you have a fiduciary duty to the state of Florida, and we’re investing in you, and we’re looking out for the retirement of our state workers, we’re going to make sure that you get back to the business of doing business,” he said. “I’ll tell you we are watching, and we are not afraid to take action if we believe a correction needs to be made.”
Uthmeier said targeting companies is justified because, in some cases, the state has suffered financial loss due to companies’ pro-DEI or ESG policies. This includes Target’s 2023 Pride initiative, when the company’s market value fell by billions due to the controversial campaign. Conservatives ripped the company at the time and urged boycotts after it released pro-LGBTQ collections, including “tuck-friendly” clothing geared toward children.
“Here in Florida, our state pension fund that provides the retirement for our teachers and first responders took a massive hit when Target decided to engage in this social ideology,” Uthmeier said. “Many months ago, they rolled out a transgender children’s clothing line. And yes, companies have some free speech rights, but when you are a publicly traded company, you have fiduciary duties to shareholders.”
Uthmeier said that in response to the Target controversy, Florida started a corporate accountability and oversight fund with over $20 million “that’s going to make sure again that we’re investing in businesses that are engaged in fiduciary responsibilities and are making money for the investors.”
Uthmeier, Gov. Ron DeSantis’s former chief of staff, was sworn into office in February.
“I promise to you and the people of Florida that I will endeavor every day to do what is right and levy justice where it is due. No empty rhetoric, no posturing, no excuses,” Uthmeier said at the time.
DeSantis hailed his new attorney general as a “bulldog” in his administration, saying it “was not a very difficult decision for me to put James as the next attorney general, because I know he’s got the foundation.”
“I know he’s got the proper worldview,” DeSantis said of Uthmeier at the swearing-in ceremony.
Uthmeier’s push to eradicate DEI follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which targeted the policy as unlawful and discriminatory.
In the past year, a host of major U.S. corporations, including Target, have embraced a growing anti-DEI trend. Many of them have cited the 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down race-based affirmative action in higher education, a decision that held legal consequences for corporations hiring based on immutable factors such as race.
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Days after Trump took office in January and began targeting DEI as unlawfully discriminatory, Target issued a memo walking back its past support for the policy.
“Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Kiera Fernandez, Target’s executive vice president and chief community and stakeholder engagement officer, wrote. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.”