Case: Justice Department Investigation of Baltimore City
DJ-170-MD-1 | No Court
Filed Date: 2026
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
On February 4, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) to determine whether BCHD had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment. The DOJ referred to publicly available reports which suggested that BCHD discriminated against employees based on their race, color, or national origin by separating employees by race during a racial equity training. The groupings included a “white caucus” and a “people of color caucus.”
The BCHD allegedly paid outside consultants between 2022 and 2024 for an "Undoing Racism Workshop" and asked those consultants to provide feedback on how the “white group,” grouped together for the purpose of challenging systemic racism, engaged with the training. The DOJ asserted that BCHD justified the "white caucus group" on the grounds that white affinity groups allow people to examine their racial conditioning without relying on people of color for answers or subjecting them to the process. As of October 21, 2026, the DOJ has not issued any findings, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Summary Authors
Sela Adegbile (10/21/2026)
Jinan Abufarha (2/7/2026)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.Case Details
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Litigation and Investigations By the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: 2026
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Department of Justice
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
Other Dockets:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Race(s):
Case Summary of Justice Department Investigation of Baltimore City, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/47803/ (last updated 2/7/2026).