Conservative fury at Macy's grows: retailer accused of sidelining 'white straight men' employees in DEI push, as petition against 'nonbinary' Thanksgiving Day Parade gets 40,000 signatures

Macy's is facing a fresh assault from conservative campaigners, with a federal complaint accusing the company of discriminating against 'white straight men' as it seeks to hire more women and minorities.

America First Legal (AFL), an activist group led by Stephen Miller, a former White House advisor to Donald Trump, says it filed a federal civil rights complaint against Macy's with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday.

Macy's is already fighting a separate furor over wokery — more than 40,000 people have signed a petition against it featuring two nonbinary Broadway stars in its upcoming Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Macy's did not answer DailyMail.com's requests for comment.

Corporations are known to be ever more fearful of anti-woke backlashes and boycotts from consumers and activists, which can cost them millions in lost sales and legal costs.

John Zadrozny, an AFL lead investigator, said he filed the complaint because Macy's aggressive push for diversity among managers was killing opportunities for white, male staffers.

'Macy's has, sadly, joined a long list of storied American companies that now prioritize racism over rights,' Zadrozny said in a statement.

'Macy's own public-facing materials all but acknowledge that they are engaging in personnel practices that violate federal law.'

The legal action group pointed to Macy's documents and press releases dating from 2019 onwards showing it has tried to hire and promote more black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian-American managers and directors.

The company aims to achieve 'more ethnic diversity by 2025 at senior director level and above, with a goal of 30 percent,' company documents show.

This makes it harder for white men to get jobs or build their careers at Macy's, AFL says.

Quotas for hiring minorities are 'patently illegal,' the group adds.

Macy's must now explain itself to the EEOC, added Zadrozny, and 'correct its unlawful and egregious conduct as soon as possible.'

Like many US companies, Macy's, a department store chain with some 95,000 employees that also runs Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, has in recent years embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Advocates of DEI schemes say they tackle longstanding racist and sexist discrimination in schools and workplaces, but critics say they end up stoking divisions between groups and marginalizing white men.

DEI efforts have faced greater scrutiny since the Supreme Court in June ruled against race-conscious admissions programs at two universities, effectively prohibiting affirmative action policies on US campuses.

The court's ruling did not cover businesses, many of which launched their own DEI schemes as part of a broader anti-racism push after George Floyd's murder in 2020 by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

Since the ruling, AFL and others have filed a barrage of suits and complaints against private businesses, saying their efforts to hire and promote more women and minorities amount to discrimination.

American Airlines, McDonald's, Salesforce and Progressive insurance are among those targeted.

'Make no mistake, 'equity' and 'DEI' are euphemisms for racism, and AFL will not stand by while qualified Americans are denied jobs simply because they do not contribute to a company's non-white ratio of employees, AFL said in a statement.

Some firms are understood to have scaled back their DEI programs, or at least publicize their activities less.

Macy's was already in the spotlight over including two nonbinary performers at its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade of floats and balloons, which is set to delight crowds in New York City on Thursday.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition against the 'nonbinary and transgender extravaganza,' which is organized by the conservative One Million Moms group.

Macy's has not commented directly on the campaign, which takes aim at the appearance of gender-nonconforming performers Justin David Sullivan and Alex Newell, among the parade's cast of thousands.

Sullivan, a trans nonbinary singer who uses 'he/she/they' pronouns, is understood to be appearing in the parade as a cast member of the Broadway musical, & Juliet, in which he plays the role of May, a nonbinary character.

Newell is gender-nonconforming and uses he/she/they pronouns. She appeared as Unique Adams in the hit teen show Glee, and is slated to appear in the parade as a cast member of Shucked.

Supporters of the campaign say they're tired of liberal corporations flaunting a 'woke' agenda in their faces. Trans rights groups bemoan another conservative outfit 'throwing a fit' to rally people against LGBTQ + rights.

One Million Moms told DailyMail.com that Macy's was 'pushing the gay agenda during prime-time' and said a holiday tradition that has delighted crowds since 1924 was 'no longer family-friendly.'

The group is part of the American Family Association, which says it has been 'on the front lines of America's culture war' since it was created in 1977, through campaigns and boycotts.

The left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center calls them a 'hate group' due to their 'anti-gay' agenda.

Tie-ups between trans performers and corporations have proven divisive in recent months. Bud Light's partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney led to a backlash and boycott that cost the beer-maker millions.

The department store chain made $25.3 billion last year through its retail website, and hundreds of stores, including its flagship outlet in Herald Square, New York City, according to Forbes.

The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade has started the holiday season since 1924, pulling in more than 50 million television viewers as 3.5 million people line the 2.5-mile parade route through Manhattan.

The 2021 parade was the first to feature a transgender pop star, with German singer/songwriter Kim Petras performing her bubblegum number 'I Don't Want It At All.'