Kenni Miller, a former shift manager at Sheetz in Altoona, Pennsylvania, experienced an unusual sense of trust and appreciation in the workplace. However, this changed drastically in the summer of 2020 when he was terminated following a background check. Miller had a nonviolent felony drug conviction from his teens, which had never before affected his employment opportunities, despite his ability to perform his duties effectively.

In 2024, Miller became part of a class-action lawsuit against Sheetz, initiated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The lawsuit claimed that the company’s criminal background checks disproportionately affected applicants of color. Yet, with the inauguration of President Trump, the administration directed an abrupt halt to the case. The EEOC cited a presidential executive order that instructed federal bodies to deprioritize cases involving policies that unintentionally impacted minority applicants, rather than cases of direct discrimination.

This policy shift resulted in the cessation of civil rights enforcement across several federal departments, including education, housing, trade, justice, and the EEOC. Although precise figures are lacking for the number of abandoned cases, legal advocates indicate a significant decline in civil rights enforcement.