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A white male New York Times employee filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the paper had discriminated against him by not giving him a promotion because he is a white male. On Tuesday, the EEOC, now controlled by a Trump appointee who has vowed to help wage the president\u2019s war against DEI culture, filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the Times arguing that the paper\u2019s efforts to satisfy its diversity goals amounted to \u201cunlawful employment practices.\u201d Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha has dismissed the allegations as \u201cpolitically motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The paper itself was first to break the news of the suit but did not name the employee who made the complaint. Reporters at the paper have been scrambling to figure out the employee\u2019s identity, driven in part by bafflement that one of their own colleagues would sell out the paper to the administration, which has used tools of the federal government to attack the press. \u201cYou\u2019re giving the Trump administration a weapon while they\u2019re trying to persecute journalists,\u201d said one reporter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been kind of a shitshow behind the scenes \u2014 people trying to figure out who the aggrieved person is,\u201d said another Times staffer. The release of the complaint on Tuesday narrowed the speculation to Bryant Rousseau, a senior editor and producer on the Times\u2019s international desk who has been with the paper for more than a decade. Rousseau\u2019s LinkedIn r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is identical to that of the charging party in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
According to the EEOC complaint, Rousseau had been passed over for the deputy real-estate editor position despite meeting \u201call requirements\u201d for the job, including experience with real-estate journalism. \u201cHe was not among the candidates given a final panel interview for the position\u201d because he \u201cdid not match the race and\/or sex characteristics NYT sought to increase in its leadership through its diversity actions and aspirations,\u201d the complaint argues. The final pool of candidates was composed of a white female, a Black male, an Asian female, and a multiracial female. The multiracial female ultimately got the job even though \u201cher experience did not meet all its stated basic requirements, including the job description\u2019s stated requirement for experience with real estate journalism,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n
People at the paper say the claim is absurd. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, there are plenty of white guys at the top of the New York Times. Not really something that\u2019s holding you back,\u201d said the reporter. To name one prominent example, Joe Kahn, the paper\u2019s executive editor, is a white male, as are many members of the masthead.<\/p>\n
Rhoades Ha, the Times spokesperson, said, \u201cThe allegation centers on a single personnel decision for one of over 100 deputy positions across the newsroom, yet the EEOC\u2019s filing makes sweeping claims that ignore the facts to fit a predetermined narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The employee originally filed the complaint in July 2025 with the EEOC office in New York. One staffer noted it could now be impossible for the Times to take action against the complainant: \u201cThis person now has job security for good after this suit. What a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
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