McDonald’s settles lawsuit challenging company’s Latino scholarship [Video]

McDonald’s opened a longstanding diversity program to all races and ethnicities last week following a lawsuit from a legal group opposed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

The lawsuit was filed by American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), an organization dedicated to challenging race-based preferences and discrimination.

AAER argued that the fast-food chain’s HACER National Scholarship Program was discriminatory against non-Hispanic/Latino students as the program required applicants to have at least one parent of Hispanic/Latino heritage. 

The settlement last week saw McDonald’s agree to open up the program to applicants of any race or ethnicity.

MCDONALD’S SUED OVER LATINO SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM DAYS AFTER DITCHING SOME DEI POLICIES

“We reached the conclusion that settling this lawsuit and evolving the program is the right thing to do for its recipients,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “To achieve this, we will remove the criteria for at least one parent to be of Hispanic/Latino heritage. Instead, applicants must demonstrate their impact and contribution …