The Society for Human Resource Management is an organization that’s built around helping companies deflect claims of workplace discrimination, and as such it can now point to the kind of headline spotlight that no HR leader ever wants hanging over her head. SHRM, the biggest HR association in the world, has been slapped with an $11.5 million verdict after a former executive successfully argued that the group was guilty of racial discrimination — shocking in its own right but also raising uncomfortable questions about the culture inside an organization that exists to teach everyone how to get it right.
The lawsuit was filed by Dr. DeShawn Wright, a Black executive who worked at SHRM for years before charging in the complaint that the organization marginalized him, denied him opportunities and retaliated when he complained of being treated unfairly. The point is that the Jury obviously believed his claims. And after a multiday trial, they’ve given SHRM a verdict that’s much more than just symbolic damages — it’s a financial and reputational gut-punch from which they’ll be reeling for some time.
What is so remarkable about this case is the character of the organization. SHRM isn’t your average workplace — it’s where employers go to get the help they need on hiring best practices, workplace equity, compliance and DEI strategy. A lawsuit over discrimination against an HR industry giant is exactly the kind of flying-fingers irony that practically writes itself, and you can already feel those vibrations throughout corporate circles in response to the case.
In the courtroom, testimony has painted a picture of internal strife and grievances that Wright said went unheeded or unaddressed. He said he encountered racial prejudice in his chain of command, was blocked from promotion and, finally, retaliated against after reporting his concerns. The jury came back on the side of expressions and returned a verdict with damages for lost sales, plus punitive penalties intended to show it means business.
SHRM, for its part, has denied any wrongdoing. The organization maintains it treated Wright fairly and is considering its options for how to challenge what it believes is an unjust verdict. But optics aside, appeals will not protect her already shattered image. When the organization that is responsible for setting HR norms gets socked with a judgment for racial discrimination, it has ripple effects — legally, culturally and in terms of best practices.
The decision comes at a time when diversity and inclusion efforts across the country are already under national scrutiny. From political pushback and corporate retrenchment to shifting legal standards for DEI programs, many HR departments have had to navigate treacherous terrain. So this verdict has set the bar even higher: If an organisation as powerful as the country’s HR central can’t escape discrimination claims, what chance do our smaller businesses have?
The case is also raising questions about accountability. For years, critics of some DEI efforts in corporate America have said they were more showy than substantive. A verdict like this throws gasoline on that flame. Which makes it that much more of a rub-your-face-in-it shamefest for SHRM — and any other HR leader who happens to be watching: Do your internal cultures mirror the values you’re evangelizing out in public?
The consequences could be complicated for SHRM members. The group offers training, certification and legal counsel for more than 300,000 HR executives. Now a number of those professionals are raising questions about how SHRM treats its own employees, and whether changes are on the way in leadership, oversight or internal policy.
The verdict for Wright is a validation years in the making that he was wrongfully maligned and dismissed, even as lawmakers passed measures giving him a legal path to confronting his abusers. For SHRM, this is a costly and embarrassing wake-up call. And for the larger HR world, it’s a reminder that no organization — not even the one writing the rulebook — is immune to the biases and structural issues it warns others about.
