US civil rights agency sues Coca-Cola distributor for excluding men from casino work trip

Source: AP

By CLAIRE SAVAGE and ALEXANDRA OLSON
Updated 10:47 AM CST, February 19, 2026

The U.S. federal agency that enforces workplace civil rights is suing a regional Coca-Cola bottler for sex discrimination, alleging the company discriminated against male employees by only inviting women to a company-sponsored networking event.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit on behalf of a male employee of Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast who complained about a two-day networking trip for about 250 women in September 2024 at the Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut. The lawsuit alleged that the Bedford, New Hampshire-based company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by excluding male employees from the event.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New Hampshire district court, challenges the sort of diversity programming the EEOC has aggressively targeted since President Donald Trump overhauled the agency, which was created by Congress under the Civil Rights Act. It comes just two weeks after the EEOC revealed that it is investigating sportswear giant Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through its diversity policies.

“Excluding men from an employer-sponsored event is a Title VII violation that the EEOC will act to remedy through litigation when necessary,” acting EEOC general counsel Catherine L. Eschbach said in statement Wednesday announcing the lawsuit against Coca-Cola Northeast.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/dei-coca-cola-eeoc-lawsuit-andrea-lucas-867fd98ec6d05ab52e7e0a3711e9d492