Free Republic

Coca-Cola has paused its controversial diversity plan — that included penalties on outside law firms if they failed to meet racial diversity quotas — after intense backlash. The pause comes after the orchestrator of the plan, Coke’s former general counsel Bradley Gayton, abruptly resigned last month after less than a year on the job and as criticism of the quotas mounted. Some questioned whether Gayton’s policies violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which says employers can’t treat people differently based on their race. Coca-Cola hired Gayton in September 2020 after spending nearly 30 years as the...

Bradley Gayton, who joined the Coca-Cola Co as general counsel in September and made headlines for requiring its law firms to staff its matters with diverse lawyers or lose its business, has resigned, the beverage giant said in a Wednesday filing. Gayton will now serve as an outside consultant to Coca-Cola’s chief executive, the Atlanta-based company said in a statement and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.