Class action accuses Danaher of turning DEI into hiring quotas

The three plaintiffs — Michael Nadeau, Wayne Gagne, and Patrick Farrell — allege that Danaher’s centralized Talent Acquisition team controlled who made it to the interview stage across the company’s subsidiaries. According to the filing, all candidates were first screened through a common applicant-tracking system and had to clear standardized stages before a hiring manager could ever meet them. 

The suit alleges that process came with a hard target: 50% of interview slates were to come from “underrepresented” groups, which the company defined as women and People of Color. If a slate didn’t hit that mark, the plaintiffs claim, requisitions could be delayed or escalated until it did. 

The allegations go further. The plaintiffs claim Danaher modified job descriptions to “open the aperture” for diverse applicants, effectively applying different qualification standards based on race and sex. They also allege the company maintained a shortlist system available only to diverse candidates, with no equivalent pathway for anyone else. 

Perhaps most striking for HR leaders is what the suit says about performance management. According to the filing, 15 to 25 percent of a manager’s review fell under a “People & Culture” category that allegedly included directives to “Strengthen DEI and female…from X to Y.” Managers who fell short of those targets, the plaintiffs claim, faced lower evaluations, fewer advancement opportunities, and reduced discretionary pay. 

The suit points to Danaher’s own 2024 Sustainability Report as evidence, noting the company reported that 68% of its 2023 U.S. new hires were women and/or People of Color.