Overview
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced on Feb. 4 that it is probing whether the Baltimore City Health Department violated Title VII by discriminating against or segregating employees by race.
- Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon condemned separating staff by race as “discriminatory, illegal, and un-American,” warning it can create a racially hostile workplace.
- The DOJ letter references public reporting that BCHD organized separate “white caucus” and “people of color caucus” meetings as part of racial equity training.
- Invoices and receipts reviewed by reporters show about $50,000 paid to the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond from 2022 to 2024, $150 per white caucus meeting, and more than $2,000 for food at a three-day training in November 2024.
- Internal emails indicate the white caucus met monthly through at least June 2025, the department has declined to answer questions about the program’s status or rationale, and the DOJ says it has reached no conclusions.