PayPal Settles Claims Tied To DEI Program for Minority Businesses
PayPal and the Department of Justice have agreed to a settlement concerning the company’s 2020 DEI initiative, which invested in Black and minority businesses. PayPal is required to launch a new Small Business Initiative that excludes characteristics such as race, according to a press release.
“This Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s vow to root out illegal DEI from every corner of corporate America,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
PayPal’s settlement with the Department of Justice
In 2020, PayPal announced the discriminatory Economic Opportunity Fund, which provided $530 million in benefits to minority businesses. As part of the settlement, the company will renounce processing fees for $1 billion in transactions valued at around $30 million for American small businesses that are veteran-owned or engaged in farming, manufacturing, or technology.
Additionally, PayPal will appoint a director of the Small Business Initiative, examine how the company can support these businesses, provide employees with training on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and report on the initiative annually.
“With this settlement, PayPal agrees that race and national origin should play no part in determining which small businesses deserve its investment and financial support,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Donald Trump’s executive orders
In January 2025, President Donald Trump evoked a six-decade-old executive order that prohibited workplace discrimination by federal contractors.
Executive Order 11246 stopped federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. This law applied to federal contractors and was implemented just two years after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump’s decision to revoke Executive Order 11246 was the latest in President Donald Trump’s string of attacks on DEI in the first few days of his presidency. Since then, a number of companies have rolled back their DEI efforts and initiatives.
Image: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
