Florida Attorney General James Uthmeir has filed a class-action lawsuit against Minnesota-based Target Corporation, accusing the retailer of “misleading and defrauding investors” with its diversity and social initiatives.
Uthmeir announced the lawsuit Thursday, saying it was filed on behalf of the Florida State Board of Administration. America First Legal is assisting in the lawsuit.
Citing a “radical and extreme 2023 Pride Campaign,” the lawsuit accuses Target of violating sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by not disclosing risks of customer backlash to its diversity, equity and inclusion policies and its environmental, social and governance mandates.
The lawsuit says that following the launch of the campaign, the retailer saw “its worst performance and longest losing streak in 23 years,” with Target’s stock price “plummeting” and $25 billion in shareholder value “erased” over six months.
That year, Target was targeted by an anti-LGBTQ+ campaign that went viral on social media. The campaign threatened employees, and there were some instances of damaged products and displays in stores. In response, Target removed certain items that it said caused the most “volatile” reaction from opponents.
The company did not stock its stores with Pride Month products in 2024.
“Corporations that push radical leftist ideology at the expense of financial returns jeopardize the retirement security of Florida’s first responders and teachers,” Uthmeier said. “My office will stridently pursue corporate reform so that companies get back to the business of doing business — not offensive political theatre.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Target “actively misled” investors by claiming to monitor the “social and political risks” due to its DEI and ESG initiatives.
“In reality, Target was only monitoring its alignment with left-wing activist groups,” the attorney general’s office said in a release.
WCCO has reached out to Target for a response to the lawsuit’s claims.
The attorney general’s office says this is the second lawsuit brought by America First Legal against Target that alleges securities fraud. That case is ongoing after a federal judge denied the retailer’s request to dismiss the case last year, “ruling that the company may have violated federal securities laws,” the office said.
In late January, Target said the changes to its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it already had planned to end the race-based program this year. The company also said that it would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion goals it previously set in three-year cycles.
Following the announcement, activists called for a nationwide boycott of Target stores. Speakers at a Minneapolis rally in late January said they felt it was not a coincidence that Target rolled back on its diversity initiatives a week before Black History Month.
Twin Cities Pride, a longtime partner, said the company would not be welcome at their Pride celebration and renounced $50,000 in funding. Less than 24 hours later, the organization said community donations had filled the gap.
Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Goldman Sachs and John Deere are among some of the well-known consumer brands that have reduced or phased out their DEI commitments in recent months.
