President Trump’s U.S. Justice Department notified Rhode Island on Wednesday that it is opening an investigation of whether the state engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race or other protected aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The notification came in a letter to state Attorney General Peter Neronha from Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of DOJ.
“Our investigation is based on information that Rhode Island may be engaged in employment practices regarding its affirmative action program governing state government employment under state law that discriminate based on race, national origin, or other protected characteristics in violation of Title VII,” according to the letter.
It continues: “Accordingly, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division has authorized a full investigation to determine whether Rhode Island is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above.”
Reached for comment Thursday, Neronha said, “Honestly, I didn’t pay it a whole lot of mind,” and he said he doesn’t intend to respond to the letter.
“They can go investigate and if the investigation turns up anything, then we will address it,” Neronha added. “It could be something today, gone tomorrow.”
While Neronha said he suspects the probe centers on DEI – diversity, equity, inclusion — a focus of the Trump administration. He also cited a lack of specifics.
“Which agencies, which policies, who was affected — you know, none of that is in here,” he said.
Neronha added, “I’m not going to waste a lot of time if any time being concerned about this notice because it is so vague and non-specific. I’m going to focus on the other work we have to do, which is extensive.”
Dhillion’s letter indicates that no conclusions have been reached.
“We intend to consider all relevant information,” he wrote, “and we welcome your assistance in helping to identify what that might be. We would appreciate your cooperation in our investigation.”
The letter copies Kevin Hubbard, civil chief in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Rhode Island. Neronha served as the state’s top federal prosecutor before winning election as attorney general in 2018.
In his letter, Dhillon indicated that Louis Whitsett, a senior trial attorney with DOJ’s employment litigation section, has been assigned to the investigation and plans to contact Neronha to schedule a meeting with him.
