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Reason Foundation Issues Commentary: Third-Party Doctrine is Dying, Government Surveillance is Not
LOS ANGELES, California, July 25 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following commentary by technology policy analyst Nicole Shekhovtsova:
* * *
The third-party doctrine is dying. Government surveillance is not
The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault.
-
In its recent Chatrie v. United States decision, the Supreme Court held that obtaining a person's Google location history through a geofence warrant falls within the Fourth Amendment's protections. The 6-3 decision chips away at the third-party doctrine, a rule ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, July 25 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following commentary by technology policy analyst Nicole Shekhovtsova: * * * The third-party doctrine is dying. Government surveillance is not The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault. - In its recent Chatrie v. United States decision, the Supreme Court held that obtaining a person's Google location history through a geofence warrant falls within the Fourth Amendment's protections. The 6-3 decision chips away at the third-party doctrine, a rulethat has allowed the government to bypass particular warrants to access sensitive information people share with private companies.
But even after Chatrie, the Fourth Amendment's protections remain narrow. Many of the ways the government gets our data never cross a judge's desk. The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault. Yet lawmakers keep forcing companies to build them.
The rule at issue
The Supreme Court's ruling stems from a 2019 bank robbery in Virginia. Because investigators did not have a specific suspect, they used a geofence warrant. Instead of targeting a known individual, this type of warrant requires a company like Google to search its location database and identify every device near a crime scene during a specific timeframe. Using this method, police identified Okello Chatrie, whose phone was one of 19 located near the robbery.
While this case moved through the court system, Google changed how it stores location history. In 2023, the company moved the data from its central servers directly to individual users' devices. This change meant Google could no longer respond to geofence warrants. By the time the Supreme Court ruled on the case, Justice Samuel Alito noted in his dissent that the majority was weighing in on a procedure that was already obsolete.
To understand the impact of the Chatrie ruling, it is important to look at the legal rule the government used to request this data: the third-party doctrine. Born from two 1970s Supreme Court cases, United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland, the third-party doctrine determined that information and data collected by businesses as part of our voluntary interactions with them, like dialed numbers or bank records, carry no reasonable expectation of privacy and can be obtained by police and other government authorities without a warrant.
But technology has evolved, and today no one gets through a day without their phones, computers, other tech devices, and even their vehicles handing companies their locations, search queries, and private messages. The Supreme Court acknowledged this issue in 2018 in Carpenter v. United States, ruling that individuals have a privacy interest in "the whole of their physical movements." In Carpenter, the court ruled that obtaining cell-tower phone records constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment, even if it's a phone company, and not the citizen targeted by police, who holds the data.
Chatrie extends Carpenter's logic to location history. The majority reasoned this data is vastly more precise than cell-site location information (CSLI), capable of identifying the exact floor of a building a user has been on. And because location data is an unavoidable byproduct of phone use rather than a genuinely "shared" file, its collection lacks the "voluntary disclosure" the third-party doctrine was built on.
While the majority technically confined its holding to location data, Chatrie's reasoning reaches further. If location history requires a warrant, it's worth asking whether the same protection should extend to the rest of the data on our phones.
Alito pressed this point further, asking where the boundary lies between location data and other traditionally unprotected records like digital purchases, search histories, and payment logs. The court may not be explicitly protecting those records yet, but Chatrie sets a precedent, and the era of using the third-party doctrine to justify warrant-free surveillance may be slowly coming to an end.
The "panopticon" problem and how Google dismantled it
But even if the Supreme Court overturned the third-party doctrine tomorrow, the core privacy concerns would remain. Justice Elena Kagan noted that the government can draw on an "all-encompassing database" of people's movements, "a virtual panopticon with which to scrutinize its citizens' activities." Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson echoed this in her concurrence, noting that only Google's pushback, not the law, stopped police from gathering data on everyone swept up in the Chatrie geofence.
Ultimately, a company's decision to eliminate a database offered more practical privacy protection than the Fourth Amendment. Google's decision was valuable and important for its users' privacy, but there are still thousands of other apps that stockpile our sensitive data. Various government agencies have found a way to collect our private data from them, bypassing the Fourth Amendment entirely.
The purchase loophole
The easiest workaround for the government is simply buying the data. Data brokers harvest location data from ordinary apps and sell it to anyone, including the government, and the Chatrie decision does not protect this information from collection.
The Constitution is designed to stop the government from forcing its way into your private life without due process. But because the government isn't forcing the broker to hand over the information, it doesn't need a warrant. Instead, the law treats the government just like any ordinary paying customer.
This loophole betrays the Fourth Amendment's underlying intent. America's founders banned "general warrants" specifically to stop the government from indiscriminately rummaging through people's private lives to monitor their beliefs, habits, and associations.
Today, federal agencies buy Americans' data and acknowledge it can reveal as much as data obtained via a warrant. The military bought location data from a Muslim prayer app, allowing them to track and profile a specific religious group without cause. Homeland Security violated its own policies to buy phone-tracking data. Local police use cheap subscriptions to special search engines to browse billions of location pings without legal process. After Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, one broker even sold data to enable tracking visits to abortion clinics.
When the government demands businesses maintain the panopticon for them
But there is a more systemic problem underlying all of this: The government often mandates the creation of the very databases it later exploits. For 50 years, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 has required banks to record customers' transactions and report anything suspicious. In fact, the records in Miller, the case that created the third-party doctrine, existed only because this law demanded them. And to this day, federal agencies use this exact system to comb through Americans' finances without warrants.
Smith followed the same blueprint: The phone records in that case existed solely because FCC regulations mandated telecom companies to retain them. When regulators later tried to scrap the rule, the Justice Department intervened, admitting the data was "essential" for investigations. Both founding cases of the third-party doctrine rest on the government explicitly ordering the records kept, then using them without a warrant.
The most recent and alarming expansion is the aggressive push at both the state and federal levels to mandate online age verification. By requiring websites to collect government IDs, lawmakers are forcing private companies yet again to build massive new databases of highly sensitive identity documents.
For decades, security experts have warned that mandating these massive, centralized data vaults creates a liability that compromises everyone's safety. The government must stop forcing these databases into existence and rely on traditional individualized warrants, freeing companies to delete the data they no longer need.
Google's decision to move location history onto individual devices proves that companies can, in fact, choose to decentralize our data. There is a clear business incentive: When consumers grow tired of being tracked, privacy sells. But we cannot rely on corporate goodwill alone, nor can we wait for the court to solve the problem: Chatrie took seven years, and by the time it was decided, the technology it judged was already obsolete.
The ultimate responsibility lies with lawmakers, and it mostly requires restraint. They must stop legislating massive data vaults into existence and forcing companies to retain records they would rather delete. If we truly want to protect our digital lives, let companies hold less, and stop ordering them to hold more.
* * *
Nicole Shekhovtsova is a technology policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/the-third-party-doctrine-is-dying-government-surveillance-is-not/
* * *
The third-party doctrine is dying. Government surveillance is not
The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault.
-
In its recent Chatrie v. United States decision, the Supreme Court held that obtaining a person's Google location history through a geofence warrant falls within the Fourth Amendment's protections. The 6-3 decision chips away at the third-party doctrine, a rule ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, July 25 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following commentary by technology policy analyst Nicole Shekhovtsova: * * * The third-party doctrine is dying. Government surveillance is not The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault. - In its recent Chatrie v. United States decision, the Supreme Court held that obtaining a person's Google location history through a geofence warrant falls within the Fourth Amendment's protections. The 6-3 decision chips away at the third-party doctrine, a rulethat has allowed the government to bypass particular warrants to access sensitive information people share with private companies.
But even after Chatrie, the Fourth Amendment's protections remain narrow. Many of the ways the government gets our data never cross a judge's desk. The strongest privacy protection, it turns out, isn't a warrant: It's when our data is never collected into a single vault. Yet lawmakers keep forcing companies to build them.
The rule at issue
The Supreme Court's ruling stems from a 2019 bank robbery in Virginia. Because investigators did not have a specific suspect, they used a geofence warrant. Instead of targeting a known individual, this type of warrant requires a company like Google to search its location database and identify every device near a crime scene during a specific timeframe. Using this method, police identified Okello Chatrie, whose phone was one of 19 located near the robbery.
While this case moved through the court system, Google changed how it stores location history. In 2023, the company moved the data from its central servers directly to individual users' devices. This change meant Google could no longer respond to geofence warrants. By the time the Supreme Court ruled on the case, Justice Samuel Alito noted in his dissent that the majority was weighing in on a procedure that was already obsolete.
To understand the impact of the Chatrie ruling, it is important to look at the legal rule the government used to request this data: the third-party doctrine. Born from two 1970s Supreme Court cases, United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland, the third-party doctrine determined that information and data collected by businesses as part of our voluntary interactions with them, like dialed numbers or bank records, carry no reasonable expectation of privacy and can be obtained by police and other government authorities without a warrant.
But technology has evolved, and today no one gets through a day without their phones, computers, other tech devices, and even their vehicles handing companies their locations, search queries, and private messages. The Supreme Court acknowledged this issue in 2018 in Carpenter v. United States, ruling that individuals have a privacy interest in "the whole of their physical movements." In Carpenter, the court ruled that obtaining cell-tower phone records constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment, even if it's a phone company, and not the citizen targeted by police, who holds the data.
Chatrie extends Carpenter's logic to location history. The majority reasoned this data is vastly more precise than cell-site location information (CSLI), capable of identifying the exact floor of a building a user has been on. And because location data is an unavoidable byproduct of phone use rather than a genuinely "shared" file, its collection lacks the "voluntary disclosure" the third-party doctrine was built on.
While the majority technically confined its holding to location data, Chatrie's reasoning reaches further. If location history requires a warrant, it's worth asking whether the same protection should extend to the rest of the data on our phones.
Alito pressed this point further, asking where the boundary lies between location data and other traditionally unprotected records like digital purchases, search histories, and payment logs. The court may not be explicitly protecting those records yet, but Chatrie sets a precedent, and the era of using the third-party doctrine to justify warrant-free surveillance may be slowly coming to an end.
The "panopticon" problem and how Google dismantled it
But even if the Supreme Court overturned the third-party doctrine tomorrow, the core privacy concerns would remain. Justice Elena Kagan noted that the government can draw on an "all-encompassing database" of people's movements, "a virtual panopticon with which to scrutinize its citizens' activities." Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson echoed this in her concurrence, noting that only Google's pushback, not the law, stopped police from gathering data on everyone swept up in the Chatrie geofence.
Ultimately, a company's decision to eliminate a database offered more practical privacy protection than the Fourth Amendment. Google's decision was valuable and important for its users' privacy, but there are still thousands of other apps that stockpile our sensitive data. Various government agencies have found a way to collect our private data from them, bypassing the Fourth Amendment entirely.
The purchase loophole
The easiest workaround for the government is simply buying the data. Data brokers harvest location data from ordinary apps and sell it to anyone, including the government, and the Chatrie decision does not protect this information from collection.
The Constitution is designed to stop the government from forcing its way into your private life without due process. But because the government isn't forcing the broker to hand over the information, it doesn't need a warrant. Instead, the law treats the government just like any ordinary paying customer.
This loophole betrays the Fourth Amendment's underlying intent. America's founders banned "general warrants" specifically to stop the government from indiscriminately rummaging through people's private lives to monitor their beliefs, habits, and associations.
Today, federal agencies buy Americans' data and acknowledge it can reveal as much as data obtained via a warrant. The military bought location data from a Muslim prayer app, allowing them to track and profile a specific religious group without cause. Homeland Security violated its own policies to buy phone-tracking data. Local police use cheap subscriptions to special search engines to browse billions of location pings without legal process. After Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, one broker even sold data to enable tracking visits to abortion clinics.
When the government demands businesses maintain the panopticon for them
But there is a more systemic problem underlying all of this: The government often mandates the creation of the very databases it later exploits. For 50 years, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 has required banks to record customers' transactions and report anything suspicious. In fact, the records in Miller, the case that created the third-party doctrine, existed only because this law demanded them. And to this day, federal agencies use this exact system to comb through Americans' finances without warrants.
Smith followed the same blueprint: The phone records in that case existed solely because FCC regulations mandated telecom companies to retain them. When regulators later tried to scrap the rule, the Justice Department intervened, admitting the data was "essential" for investigations. Both founding cases of the third-party doctrine rest on the government explicitly ordering the records kept, then using them without a warrant.
The most recent and alarming expansion is the aggressive push at both the state and federal levels to mandate online age verification. By requiring websites to collect government IDs, lawmakers are forcing private companies yet again to build massive new databases of highly sensitive identity documents.
For decades, security experts have warned that mandating these massive, centralized data vaults creates a liability that compromises everyone's safety. The government must stop forcing these databases into existence and rely on traditional individualized warrants, freeing companies to delete the data they no longer need.
Google's decision to move location history onto individual devices proves that companies can, in fact, choose to decentralize our data. There is a clear business incentive: When consumers grow tired of being tracked, privacy sells. But we cannot rely on corporate goodwill alone, nor can we wait for the court to solve the problem: Chatrie took seven years, and by the time it was decided, the technology it judged was already obsolete.
The ultimate responsibility lies with lawmakers, and it mostly requires restraint. They must stop legislating massive data vaults into existence and forcing companies to retain records they would rather delete. If we truly want to protect our digital lives, let companies hold less, and stop ordering them to hold more.
* * *
Nicole Shekhovtsova is a technology policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/the-third-party-doctrine-is-dying-government-surveillance-is-not/
RSE Research Awards Strengthen Scotland's Research Future With pound sterling661K Funding Boost
EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 25 -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news:
* * *
RSE Research Awards strengthen Scotland's research future with pound sterling661K funding boost
We are pleased to announce that 61 exceptional research projects were selected at the spring 2026 Research Awards open call.
-
Over pound sterling661,000 will fund innovative research across a range of academic fields, enabling projects such as a study of environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites, recording stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmer ... Show Full Article EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 25 -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news: * * * RSE Research Awards strengthen Scotland's research future with pound sterling661K funding boost We are pleased to announce that 61 exceptional research projects were selected at the spring 2026 Research Awards open call. - Over pound sterling661,000 will fund innovative research across a range of academic fields, enabling projects such as a study of environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites, recording stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmerScotland, and mapping poverty and health inequalities in Scotland's communities and how we can address the knowledge-to-action gap.
In this round, lead investigators represent 14 of the Scottish universities and research institutes; however, the reach of these awards extends beyond Scotland, with collaborators representing 22 institutions in total, including international organisations in Spain, Nigeria, Italy, Chile, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada.
The RSE's Research Awards Programme opens in spring and autumn each year and aims to support Scotland's research sector by nurturing promising talent, stimulating research in Scotland, and promoting international collaboration.
RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, commented,
"The RSE's Research Awards continue to be a cornerstone of Scotland's thriving research community. I am confident that the recipients of these distinguished awards will push the boundaries of knowledge and create meaningful benefits for people across Scotland and beyond. On behalf of the Society, I extend warm congratulations to these exceptional researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their work."
The RSE is deeply grateful for the continued support of the Scottish Funding Council, as well as the valued contributions from the RSE Scotland Foundation and the Caledonian Research Fund.
Recipients of Spring 2026 RSE Research Awards:
Small Research Grants
* Dr Jessica Arnull, University of Edinburgh
Seabird-mediated nutrient connectivity across coral-seagrass systems in the Maldives
* Dr Abdelaziz Beqqali, University of Edinburgh
Establishing OOPS in thin murine heart tissue slices to enable direct analysis of cardiac RNA-binding proteins
* Dr Gianluca Destro, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Professor Adriana Tavares, University of Edinburgh
Liposome enhanced SPECT imaging of PARP 1 in triple negative breast cancer using technetium 99m
* Professor Georgios Gerasimou, University of Glasgow
On the consistency between scoring and augmented ranking methods for eliciting preference intensities: An experimental study
* Dr Jake Greenfield, University of St Andrews
Photoswitchable imines: Now in water
* Dr Clare Hamilton, Moredun Research Institute, with collaborator Dr David Smith, Moredun Research Institute
Understanding intestinal invasion by toxoplasma gondii
* Dr Johannes Heim, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Professor Martina Wiltschko, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
SELFLings: Development of self-talk in children
* Dr Rebecca Hewer, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Ben Collier, University of Edinburgh
The feminist policy project
* Dr Davina Hill, University of Glasgow
Environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites
* Dr Kat Hunfeld, University of St Andrews
For land held in common: Sustainable futures through community land buyouts
* Dr Diarmaid Kelliher, University of Glasgow
An angry silence? Social ostracism, boycotts and unofficial discipline in the postwar British workplace
* Dr Neil Kirk, Abertay University
AI voices and the illusion of truth
* Dr Jung Woo Lee, University of Edinburgh
The politics of sport mega-events in a multipolar world
* Dr Siobhan Magee, University of Edinburgh
'UV citizenship': Understanding stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmer and warmer Scotland
* Dr Rhiannon McGlade, University of Strathclyde
In visible ink: Visual print media and women in Spain (1968-1993)
* Dr Andrew McLean, University of Edinburgh
Competition law and the left
* Dr Katharine Mitchell, University of Strathclyde
Making before the credits: Feminist genealogies and the making of Italian women film pioneers, 1914-22
* Dr Ryan Morris, University of Edinburgh
Environmental drivers of spirochete aggregation
* Professor Miratul Muqit, University of Dundee, with collaborator Dr Odetta Antico, University of Dundee
Establishing pulsed SILAM to assess protein turnover dysregulation in a PINK1-deficient mouse model of Parkinson's disease
* Professor Gordon Noble, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Professor Kate Britton, University of Aberdeen
Tracing livestock mobility and provisioning networks in early medieval Dal Riata: A multi-isotope analysis
* Dr Constantina Papadopoulou, University of the West of Scotland
Supporting wellbeing after low-grade brain tumours: Understanding survivorship needs
* Professor Julia Prest, University of St Andrews
Dance and disability: Exclusion, imitation and inclusion in the early modern period and today
* Dr Michael Rapport, University of Glasgow
The spatial French Revolution: The transformation of buildings and spaces in revolutionary Paris
* Professor Patrizia Riganti, University of Glasgow
Heritage matters: Embedding cultural heritage value in Scotland's National Performance Framework
* Dr David Roxburgh, University of Strathclyde, with collaborators Dr Malika Pedley, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France and Lorna Anderson, Queen Margaret University
MultIPLE: Multilingual and multicultural Initial Professional Learning for Educators
* Dr Blair Saunders, University of Dundee
Is vaping rewriting the science of quitting? Goal structures in smoking and e-cigarette cessation
* Dr Christine Sylvester, University of Strathclyde, with collaborator Dr Heinz Brandenburg, University of Strathclyde
Adversarial politics after devolution: Computational analysis of parliamentary debate in Westminster and Holyrood
* Dr Karolina Watroba, University of Edinburgh
Afterlives of empires: Imagining alternative cultural genealogies in Germany, Poland, Japan, and Korea, 1920s-2020s
* Dr Catherine Wilson, University of Glasgow
Characterising the clinical, immunological and virological features of chronic infection in people with immunosuppression
* Dr Rhona Winnington, University of the West of Scotland, with collaborator Dr Sandra Lucas, University of the West of Scotland
Scoping the landscape of contemporary palliative care in Scotland: A modified VOICES survey
* Dr Philippa Woodcock, University of the Highlands and Islands
They wept together: Investigating miscarriage, taboo and support in early modern Scotland
* Dr Tao Zhang, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Alexander Croke, University of Glasgow
Exploration of flight physics for aerial firefighting in urban environments
Research Collaboration Grants
* Dr Alessandro Boussalem, University of St Andrews, with collaborator Dr Alice Butler-Warke, University of Reading
"This is what community looks like": Building solidarities against the far right in Dundee
* Professor Daniel Clayton, University of St Andrews, with collaborator Professor Federico Ferretti, Universita di Bologna, Italy
Anticolonial geographical imaginations and networks: Rethinking the discipline through 'worldmaking'
* Dr Deval Desai, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Gail Lythgoe, University of Edinburgh and Professor Maria Fletcher, University of Glasgow
Scottish decolonising law network
* Dr Sarah Greenwood, University of Stirling, with collaborator Dr Alejandro Venegas-Gonzalez, Universidad de O Higgins, Chile
Tree growth resilience to an extreme drought event in Chile-is a change of state approaching?
* Dr Laura Guy, Glasgow School of Art, with collaborators Dr Fiona Anderson, Newcastle University and Dr Cole Collins, Glasgow School of Art
Preserving queer photography: Making and maintaining community-led infrastructures of care
* Professor Moira Hulme, University of the West of Scotland, with collaborators Professor Gary Beauchamp, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Professor Catherine Furlong, Dublin City University
Sustaining teaching: A cross-national research collaboration on teacher wellbeing
* Professor Sarah Johnsen, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Olivia Swann, University of Edinburgh and Dr Carey Lunan, University of Edinburgh
Poverty and health inequalities in Scotland's communities: Closing the knowledge to action gap
* Professor Duncan MacLeod, Glasgow School of Art, with collaborator Dr Frances Wilkins, University of Aberdeen and Mrs Floraidh Forrest, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches
The carrying stream: Activating Scotland's sound archives through creative transmission
* Dr John McCallum, University of Edinburgh
Centring emotions in Scottish history
* Dr Lisa McDonald, University of St Andrews, with collaborators Professor Sue Farran, Newcastle University and Professor Stuart Jeffrey, Glasgow School of Art
Connecting ancestral owners with dispersed material culture: Nemah itseh (decorated barkcloth) from Erromango, Vanuatu
* Dr Pedro Mendonca, Heriot-Watt University, with collaborator Dr Pille Strauss, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
The impact of algorithmic management on managers: A collaborative study between Scotland and Sweden (MANAGE-AI)
* Professor Fabio Nudelman, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Professor Claire Donnelly, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Dr Johannes Ihli, Experiments Division, ALBA Synchrotron, Spain
In search of a unifying microstructural motive among brachiopod shells
* Dr Admire Nyamwanza, Queen Margaret University, with collaborator Dr Katelyn Johnson, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Bridging the implementation gap: A Scotland-South Africa partnership for health-centred governance of nature-based solutions
* Professor Alison Phipps, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Aleksandra Glos, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile
Co-creating hope with refugee children
* Dr Carolina Recart, University of Strathclyde, with collaborators Dr Samuele Colombo, University of Strathclyde and Professor Asa Wikberg-Nilsson, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden
Occupants in the loop: A biometric-informed system for real-time occupant-centred building performance
* Professor Dan Swanton, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Professor Lesley Batty, University of Birmingham and Professor Emeritus Derek France, University of Chester
Co-creating a manifesto for fieldwork: Building a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable future for fieldwork education
* Dr Sergiy Sylantyev, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Dr Olga Kopach, City St. George's University of London
Investigating the PIEZO1 channel function across brain neuronal types in health and in pathological models
* Dr J. Kelechi Ugwuanyi, University of Glasgow, with collaborators Dr George Agbo, University of Edinburgh and Professor Tochukwu Omenma, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
Decolonial heritage otherwise: Engaging Igbo cultural heritage in Scotland
* Dr Ellen Vanderhoven, University of Glasgow, with Dr Johannes Schmees, University of Derby
Youth voice and representation in Scottish apprenticeships
* Dr Victor H. Villar, University of St Andrews
Uncovering ISG15-driven metabolic reprogramming in synovial sarcoma and liposarcoma for therapeutic and biomarker development
Personal Research Fellowships
* Professor Stephen Bogle, University of Glasgow
Rights and reparation: The structure of Scots delict
* Dr Daniela Castro-Camilo, University of Glasgow
SEED: Spatial modelling of extreme counts for environmental and ecological data
* Dr Andreas Hackl, University of Edinburgh
Digital lifelines: The promise and peril of remote work for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
* Dr David Nelson, University of Strathclyde
Low valent nickel complexes as tools to explore catalytic reaction mechanisms
* Dr Michiel Poesen, University of Aberdeen
Artificial Intelligence and private international law in the EU and UK
* Dr Sally Tuckett, University of Glasgow
Climate and cloth in Scotland's historical and contemporary contexts
RSE International Bilateral Visits (Stream 1)
* Professor Andrew Baker, University of Edinburgh, visiting Professor Judith Sluimer, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Enhancer-mediated targeting of adventitial fibroblasts in vein graft atherosclerosis
* Professor Alison Brown, University of Aberdeen, visiting Dr Cara Krmpotich, University of Toronto, Canada
Family reunions: Digital engagement and diplomacy between Scotland and the Great Lakes of Turtle Island
* Dr Gwenne McIntosh, University of Stirling, visiting Mr Simon Githui, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT), Kenya
Developing anti-stigma strategies for young people in Kenya: A co-production initiative
* * *
Original text here: https://rse.org.uk/rse-research-awards-strengthen-scotlands-research-future-with-661k-funding-boost/
* * *
RSE Research Awards strengthen Scotland's research future with pound sterling661K funding boost
We are pleased to announce that 61 exceptional research projects were selected at the spring 2026 Research Awards open call.
-
Over pound sterling661,000 will fund innovative research across a range of academic fields, enabling projects such as a study of environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites, recording stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmer ... Show Full Article EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 25 -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news: * * * RSE Research Awards strengthen Scotland's research future with pound sterling661K funding boost We are pleased to announce that 61 exceptional research projects were selected at the spring 2026 Research Awards open call. - Over pound sterling661,000 will fund innovative research across a range of academic fields, enabling projects such as a study of environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites, recording stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmerScotland, and mapping poverty and health inequalities in Scotland's communities and how we can address the knowledge-to-action gap.
In this round, lead investigators represent 14 of the Scottish universities and research institutes; however, the reach of these awards extends beyond Scotland, with collaborators representing 22 institutions in total, including international organisations in Spain, Nigeria, Italy, Chile, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada.
The RSE's Research Awards Programme opens in spring and autumn each year and aims to support Scotland's research sector by nurturing promising talent, stimulating research in Scotland, and promoting international collaboration.
RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, commented,
"The RSE's Research Awards continue to be a cornerstone of Scotland's thriving research community. I am confident that the recipients of these distinguished awards will push the boundaries of knowledge and create meaningful benefits for people across Scotland and beyond. On behalf of the Society, I extend warm congratulations to these exceptional researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their work."
The RSE is deeply grateful for the continued support of the Scottish Funding Council, as well as the valued contributions from the RSE Scotland Foundation and the Caledonian Research Fund.
Recipients of Spring 2026 RSE Research Awards:
Small Research Grants
* Dr Jessica Arnull, University of Edinburgh
Seabird-mediated nutrient connectivity across coral-seagrass systems in the Maldives
* Dr Abdelaziz Beqqali, University of Edinburgh
Establishing OOPS in thin murine heart tissue slices to enable direct analysis of cardiac RNA-binding proteins
* Dr Gianluca Destro, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Professor Adriana Tavares, University of Edinburgh
Liposome enhanced SPECT imaging of PARP 1 in triple negative breast cancer using technetium 99m
* Professor Georgios Gerasimou, University of Glasgow
On the consistency between scoring and augmented ranking methods for eliciting preference intensities: An experimental study
* Dr Jake Greenfield, University of St Andrews
Photoswitchable imines: Now in water
* Dr Clare Hamilton, Moredun Research Institute, with collaborator Dr David Smith, Moredun Research Institute
Understanding intestinal invasion by toxoplasma gondii
* Dr Johannes Heim, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Professor Martina Wiltschko, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
SELFLings: Development of self-talk in children
* Dr Rebecca Hewer, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Ben Collier, University of Edinburgh
The feminist policy project
* Dr Davina Hill, University of Glasgow
Environmental conditions and disturbance at hedgehog hibernation sites
* Dr Kat Hunfeld, University of St Andrews
For land held in common: Sustainable futures through community land buyouts
* Dr Diarmaid Kelliher, University of Glasgow
An angry silence? Social ostracism, boycotts and unofficial discipline in the postwar British workplace
* Dr Neil Kirk, Abertay University
AI voices and the illusion of truth
* Dr Jung Woo Lee, University of Edinburgh
The politics of sport mega-events in a multipolar world
* Dr Siobhan Magee, University of Edinburgh
'UV citizenship': Understanding stakeholders' attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmer and warmer Scotland
* Dr Rhiannon McGlade, University of Strathclyde
In visible ink: Visual print media and women in Spain (1968-1993)
* Dr Andrew McLean, University of Edinburgh
Competition law and the left
* Dr Katharine Mitchell, University of Strathclyde
Making before the credits: Feminist genealogies and the making of Italian women film pioneers, 1914-22
* Dr Ryan Morris, University of Edinburgh
Environmental drivers of spirochete aggregation
* Professor Miratul Muqit, University of Dundee, with collaborator Dr Odetta Antico, University of Dundee
Establishing pulsed SILAM to assess protein turnover dysregulation in a PINK1-deficient mouse model of Parkinson's disease
* Professor Gordon Noble, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Professor Kate Britton, University of Aberdeen
Tracing livestock mobility and provisioning networks in early medieval Dal Riata: A multi-isotope analysis
* Dr Constantina Papadopoulou, University of the West of Scotland
Supporting wellbeing after low-grade brain tumours: Understanding survivorship needs
* Professor Julia Prest, University of St Andrews
Dance and disability: Exclusion, imitation and inclusion in the early modern period and today
* Dr Michael Rapport, University of Glasgow
The spatial French Revolution: The transformation of buildings and spaces in revolutionary Paris
* Professor Patrizia Riganti, University of Glasgow
Heritage matters: Embedding cultural heritage value in Scotland's National Performance Framework
* Dr David Roxburgh, University of Strathclyde, with collaborators Dr Malika Pedley, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France and Lorna Anderson, Queen Margaret University
MultIPLE: Multilingual and multicultural Initial Professional Learning for Educators
* Dr Blair Saunders, University of Dundee
Is vaping rewriting the science of quitting? Goal structures in smoking and e-cigarette cessation
* Dr Christine Sylvester, University of Strathclyde, with collaborator Dr Heinz Brandenburg, University of Strathclyde
Adversarial politics after devolution: Computational analysis of parliamentary debate in Westminster and Holyrood
* Dr Karolina Watroba, University of Edinburgh
Afterlives of empires: Imagining alternative cultural genealogies in Germany, Poland, Japan, and Korea, 1920s-2020s
* Dr Catherine Wilson, University of Glasgow
Characterising the clinical, immunological and virological features of chronic infection in people with immunosuppression
* Dr Rhona Winnington, University of the West of Scotland, with collaborator Dr Sandra Lucas, University of the West of Scotland
Scoping the landscape of contemporary palliative care in Scotland: A modified VOICES survey
* Dr Philippa Woodcock, University of the Highlands and Islands
They wept together: Investigating miscarriage, taboo and support in early modern Scotland
* Dr Tao Zhang, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Alexander Croke, University of Glasgow
Exploration of flight physics for aerial firefighting in urban environments
Research Collaboration Grants
* Dr Alessandro Boussalem, University of St Andrews, with collaborator Dr Alice Butler-Warke, University of Reading
"This is what community looks like": Building solidarities against the far right in Dundee
* Professor Daniel Clayton, University of St Andrews, with collaborator Professor Federico Ferretti, Universita di Bologna, Italy
Anticolonial geographical imaginations and networks: Rethinking the discipline through 'worldmaking'
* Dr Deval Desai, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Gail Lythgoe, University of Edinburgh and Professor Maria Fletcher, University of Glasgow
Scottish decolonising law network
* Dr Sarah Greenwood, University of Stirling, with collaborator Dr Alejandro Venegas-Gonzalez, Universidad de O Higgins, Chile
Tree growth resilience to an extreme drought event in Chile-is a change of state approaching?
* Dr Laura Guy, Glasgow School of Art, with collaborators Dr Fiona Anderson, Newcastle University and Dr Cole Collins, Glasgow School of Art
Preserving queer photography: Making and maintaining community-led infrastructures of care
* Professor Moira Hulme, University of the West of Scotland, with collaborators Professor Gary Beauchamp, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Professor Catherine Furlong, Dublin City University
Sustaining teaching: A cross-national research collaboration on teacher wellbeing
* Professor Sarah Johnsen, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Olivia Swann, University of Edinburgh and Dr Carey Lunan, University of Edinburgh
Poverty and health inequalities in Scotland's communities: Closing the knowledge to action gap
* Professor Duncan MacLeod, Glasgow School of Art, with collaborator Dr Frances Wilkins, University of Aberdeen and Mrs Floraidh Forrest, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches
The carrying stream: Activating Scotland's sound archives through creative transmission
* Dr John McCallum, University of Edinburgh
Centring emotions in Scottish history
* Dr Lisa McDonald, University of St Andrews, with collaborators Professor Sue Farran, Newcastle University and Professor Stuart Jeffrey, Glasgow School of Art
Connecting ancestral owners with dispersed material culture: Nemah itseh (decorated barkcloth) from Erromango, Vanuatu
* Dr Pedro Mendonca, Heriot-Watt University, with collaborator Dr Pille Strauss, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
The impact of algorithmic management on managers: A collaborative study between Scotland and Sweden (MANAGE-AI)
* Professor Fabio Nudelman, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Professor Claire Donnelly, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Dr Johannes Ihli, Experiments Division, ALBA Synchrotron, Spain
In search of a unifying microstructural motive among brachiopod shells
* Dr Admire Nyamwanza, Queen Margaret University, with collaborator Dr Katelyn Johnson, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Bridging the implementation gap: A Scotland-South Africa partnership for health-centred governance of nature-based solutions
* Professor Alison Phipps, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Aleksandra Glos, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile
Co-creating hope with refugee children
* Dr Carolina Recart, University of Strathclyde, with collaborators Dr Samuele Colombo, University of Strathclyde and Professor Asa Wikberg-Nilsson, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden
Occupants in the loop: A biometric-informed system for real-time occupant-centred building performance
* Professor Dan Swanton, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Professor Lesley Batty, University of Birmingham and Professor Emeritus Derek France, University of Chester
Co-creating a manifesto for fieldwork: Building a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable future for fieldwork education
* Dr Sergiy Sylantyev, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Dr Olga Kopach, City St. George's University of London
Investigating the PIEZO1 channel function across brain neuronal types in health and in pathological models
* Dr J. Kelechi Ugwuanyi, University of Glasgow, with collaborators Dr George Agbo, University of Edinburgh and Professor Tochukwu Omenma, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
Decolonial heritage otherwise: Engaging Igbo cultural heritage in Scotland
* Dr Ellen Vanderhoven, University of Glasgow, with Dr Johannes Schmees, University of Derby
Youth voice and representation in Scottish apprenticeships
* Dr Victor H. Villar, University of St Andrews
Uncovering ISG15-driven metabolic reprogramming in synovial sarcoma and liposarcoma for therapeutic and biomarker development
Personal Research Fellowships
* Professor Stephen Bogle, University of Glasgow
Rights and reparation: The structure of Scots delict
* Dr Daniela Castro-Camilo, University of Glasgow
SEED: Spatial modelling of extreme counts for environmental and ecological data
* Dr Andreas Hackl, University of Edinburgh
Digital lifelines: The promise and peril of remote work for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
* Dr David Nelson, University of Strathclyde
Low valent nickel complexes as tools to explore catalytic reaction mechanisms
* Dr Michiel Poesen, University of Aberdeen
Artificial Intelligence and private international law in the EU and UK
* Dr Sally Tuckett, University of Glasgow
Climate and cloth in Scotland's historical and contemporary contexts
RSE International Bilateral Visits (Stream 1)
* Professor Andrew Baker, University of Edinburgh, visiting Professor Judith Sluimer, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Enhancer-mediated targeting of adventitial fibroblasts in vein graft atherosclerosis
* Professor Alison Brown, University of Aberdeen, visiting Dr Cara Krmpotich, University of Toronto, Canada
Family reunions: Digital engagement and diplomacy between Scotland and the Great Lakes of Turtle Island
* Dr Gwenne McIntosh, University of Stirling, visiting Mr Simon Githui, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT), Kenya
Developing anti-stigma strategies for young people in Kenya: A co-production initiative
* * *
Original text here: https://rse.org.uk/rse-research-awards-strengthen-scotlands-research-future-with-661k-funding-boost/
Wellcome responds to the announcement of the new UK Science Minister
LONDON, England, July 24 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release:
* * *
Wellcome responds to the announcement of the new UK Science Minister
*
Beth Thompson, Executive Director for Policy & Partnerships at Wellcome, said:
"We look forward to working with Jonathan Reynolds as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Chris McDonald as Science Minister.
"Being serious about improving people's lives means being serious about science. Harnessing the full power of science is critical to achieving the aims of this - and any - government. ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, July 24 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release: * * * Wellcome responds to the announcement of the new UK Science Minister * Beth Thompson, Executive Director for Policy & Partnerships at Wellcome, said: "We look forward to working with Jonathan Reynolds as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Chris McDonald as Science Minister. "Being serious about improving people's lives means being serious about science. Harnessing the full power of science is critical to achieving the aims of this - and any - government.It is a sector in which the UK has enormous heritage and potential, providing the foundation for breakthroughs in health, technology and engineering. Research commissioned by Wellcome shows that, even in this challenging economic environment, science and innovation remain a strong source of hope amongst the British public.
"To make the most of this opportunity, the new Department for Business, Science and Innovation and Trade must build on DSIT's legacy. There are benefits to merging the departments, but science cannot be relegated to only serving the needs of business. DBIST must use the full strength of the UK's science sector so it serves all corners of society. The new Science Minister's joint role across DBIST and DHSC provides exactly this opportunity, ensuring cutting-edge science can drive the NHS to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
"While recognising difficult decisions to be made, it's clear that a focus on short-term growth must not compromise long-term investment in curiosity-driven research if we are to cement the UK's reputation as the global partner of choice for R&D."
Notes to Editors
Wellcome commissioned More in Common to explore the British public's attitude to science. Published in April 2026, the report found that science and innovation remain one of the strongest sources of hope for people across Britain.
***
Original text here: https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/wellcome-responds-announcement-new-uk-science-minister
* * *
Wellcome responds to the announcement of the new UK Science Minister
*
Beth Thompson, Executive Director for Policy & Partnerships at Wellcome, said:
"We look forward to working with Jonathan Reynolds as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Chris McDonald as Science Minister.
"Being serious about improving people's lives means being serious about science. Harnessing the full power of science is critical to achieving the aims of this - and any - government. ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, July 24 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release: * * * Wellcome responds to the announcement of the new UK Science Minister * Beth Thompson, Executive Director for Policy & Partnerships at Wellcome, said: "We look forward to working with Jonathan Reynolds as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Chris McDonald as Science Minister. "Being serious about improving people's lives means being serious about science. Harnessing the full power of science is critical to achieving the aims of this - and any - government.It is a sector in which the UK has enormous heritage and potential, providing the foundation for breakthroughs in health, technology and engineering. Research commissioned by Wellcome shows that, even in this challenging economic environment, science and innovation remain a strong source of hope amongst the British public.
"To make the most of this opportunity, the new Department for Business, Science and Innovation and Trade must build on DSIT's legacy. There are benefits to merging the departments, but science cannot be relegated to only serving the needs of business. DBIST must use the full strength of the UK's science sector so it serves all corners of society. The new Science Minister's joint role across DBIST and DHSC provides exactly this opportunity, ensuring cutting-edge science can drive the NHS to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
"While recognising difficult decisions to be made, it's clear that a focus on short-term growth must not compromise long-term investment in curiosity-driven research if we are to cement the UK's reputation as the global partner of choice for R&D."
Notes to Editors
Wellcome commissioned More in Common to explore the British public's attitude to science. Published in April 2026, the report found that science and innovation remain one of the strongest sources of hope for people across Britain.
***
Original text here: https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/wellcome-responds-announcement-new-uk-science-minister
Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned
SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, July 24 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release:
* * *
Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned
*
On appeal, NLRB General Counsel finds UFCW union bosses violated the law by fining worker nearly $1,000 for supposedly working one hour during strike
Portland, OR (July 24, 2026) - Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Coyesca Vasquez has been vindicated in her nearly two-year dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 ... Show Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, July 24 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release: * * * Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned * On appeal, NLRB General Counsel finds UFCW union bosses violated the law by fining worker nearly $1,000 for supposedly working one hour during strike Portland, OR (July 24, 2026) - Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Coyesca Vasquez has been vindicated in her nearly two-year dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555union bosses, as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel has just moved to prosecute the union for violating Vasquez's rights.
Vasquez filed federal charges against UFCW Local 555 after union bosses targeted her with a strike fine for exercising her right to continue working during a union boss-ordered strike action in 2024. The charges were originally filed with NLRB Region 19, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a task that includes adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees.
Vasquez exercised her legal right to resign UFCW union membership, in order to continue working, on August 28, 2024. However, UFCW officials claimed the resignation letter was not received until after she had returned to work for one hour.
UFCW bosses then apparently attempted to use this supposed one-hour delay as a technicality to justify a fine for $992, announced in a December 2024 letter, after finding her "guilty" of violating internal UFCW rules. Longstanding law says union bosses cannot impose "union discipline" against workers who are not voluntary union members. Such discipline frequently takes the form of four- or five-figure monetary fines payable to union boss-controlled funds.
Vasquez's charge was initially dismissed by the NLRB Regional Director on May 11, 2026, following an "investigation" that only took into account the union's timeline of events. Foundation staff attorneys appealed the decision to the NLRB General Counsel on May 26, detailing how Vasquez had validly resigned her union membership before returning to work and had significant evidence of her efforts to deliver her resignation to the union.
After examining the facts of the case, the General Counsel sustained Vasquez's appeal, finding that UFCW union officials violated the NLRA by refusing to recognize her resignation. The case has now been remanded to the Regional Director where UFCW union bosses will be prosecuted for violating Vasquez's rights under the NLRA unless they agree to settle the case, which would include rescinding the fine attempt and notifying other Fred Meyer employees of their legal rights in such situations.
Earlier this year, and with assistance from Foundation staff attorneys, fellow Oregon Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer-who was subjected to the same UFCW Local 555 illegal fining after he exercised his right to work during the 2024 strike by resigning his union membership-had his fine rescinded by the union.
"We welcome the General Counsel's decision to move forward in Ms. Vasquez's case against UFCW union bosses for ignoring her resignation and then attempting to claim a one hour delay justified a nearly $1,000 fine," stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "Union officials have a long history of attempting to obstruct workers' union resignation requests, then using those obstruction tactics to attempt to justify punitive fines, and it is critical that the NLRB not look the other way when Big Labor deploys these anti-worker tactics."
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Share
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
Posted on Jul 24, 2026 in News Releases
***
Original text here: https://www.nrtw.org/news/oregon-fred-meyer-ufcw-07242026/
* * *
Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned
*
On appeal, NLRB General Counsel finds UFCW union bosses violated the law by fining worker nearly $1,000 for supposedly working one hour during strike
Portland, OR (July 24, 2026) - Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Coyesca Vasquez has been vindicated in her nearly two-year dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 ... Show Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, July 24 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release: * * * Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned * On appeal, NLRB General Counsel finds UFCW union bosses violated the law by fining worker nearly $1,000 for supposedly working one hour during strike Portland, OR (July 24, 2026) - Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Coyesca Vasquez has been vindicated in her nearly two-year dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555union bosses, as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel has just moved to prosecute the union for violating Vasquez's rights.
Vasquez filed federal charges against UFCW Local 555 after union bosses targeted her with a strike fine for exercising her right to continue working during a union boss-ordered strike action in 2024. The charges were originally filed with NLRB Region 19, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a task that includes adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees.
Vasquez exercised her legal right to resign UFCW union membership, in order to continue working, on August 28, 2024. However, UFCW officials claimed the resignation letter was not received until after she had returned to work for one hour.
UFCW bosses then apparently attempted to use this supposed one-hour delay as a technicality to justify a fine for $992, announced in a December 2024 letter, after finding her "guilty" of violating internal UFCW rules. Longstanding law says union bosses cannot impose "union discipline" against workers who are not voluntary union members. Such discipline frequently takes the form of four- or five-figure monetary fines payable to union boss-controlled funds.
Vasquez's charge was initially dismissed by the NLRB Regional Director on May 11, 2026, following an "investigation" that only took into account the union's timeline of events. Foundation staff attorneys appealed the decision to the NLRB General Counsel on May 26, detailing how Vasquez had validly resigned her union membership before returning to work and had significant evidence of her efforts to deliver her resignation to the union.
After examining the facts of the case, the General Counsel sustained Vasquez's appeal, finding that UFCW union officials violated the NLRA by refusing to recognize her resignation. The case has now been remanded to the Regional Director where UFCW union bosses will be prosecuted for violating Vasquez's rights under the NLRA unless they agree to settle the case, which would include rescinding the fine attempt and notifying other Fred Meyer employees of their legal rights in such situations.
Earlier this year, and with assistance from Foundation staff attorneys, fellow Oregon Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer-who was subjected to the same UFCW Local 555 illegal fining after he exercised his right to work during the 2024 strike by resigning his union membership-had his fine rescinded by the union.
"We welcome the General Counsel's decision to move forward in Ms. Vasquez's case against UFCW union bosses for ignoring her resignation and then attempting to claim a one hour delay justified a nearly $1,000 fine," stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "Union officials have a long history of attempting to obstruct workers' union resignation requests, then using those obstruction tactics to attempt to justify punitive fines, and it is critical that the NLRB not look the other way when Big Labor deploys these anti-worker tactics."
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Share
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
Posted on Jul 24, 2026 in News Releases
***
Original text here: https://www.nrtw.org/news/oregon-fred-meyer-ufcw-07242026/
FFRF Lambastes New DOJ Guidance Expanding Religious Privilege
MADISON, Wisconsin, July 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
* * *
FFRF lambastes new DOJ guidance expanding religious privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice's newly issued guidance on religious liberty.
The Justice Department today released updated guidance replacing its 2017 memorandum on federal religious liberty protections and directing federal agencies to broadly accommodate religious exercise in employment, contracting, rulemaking, enforcement actions and grant programs. It also instructs ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, July 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release: * * * FFRF lambastes new DOJ guidance expanding religious privilege The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice's newly issued guidance on religious liberty. The Justice Department today released updated guidance replacing its 2017 memorandum on federal religious liberty protections and directing federal agencies to broadly accommodate religious exercise in employment, contracting, rulemaking, enforcement actions and grant programs. It also instructsagencies to proactively review regulations and policies for potential impacts on religious liberty and elevates religious interests throughout the federal administrative process. This is a sweeping effort to expand religious privilege throughout the federal government while further eroding the constitutional principle of church-state separation.
While the guidance purports to protect religious liberty, FFRF says it overwhelmingly emphasizes a favorable interpretation of the rights of religious believers and organizations while giving little attention to the constitutional rights of those who do not share those beliefs.
"This so-called religious liberty guidance is really a roadmap for privileging conservative Christianity at the expense of the constitutional rights of everyone else," says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. "Rather than reminding federal agencies that the First Amendment protects both the free exercise of religion and the prohibition against government establishment of religion, the Justice Department has produced a one-sided manifesto that treats religious belief as a trump card over neutral laws, civil rights protections and government accountability."
The updated memorandum repeatedly cites recent Supreme Court decisions to support expansive religious exemptions, endorses broad protections for religious organizations that discriminate in hiring and federal contracting, encourages agencies to accommodate religious objections whenever possible and instructs regulators to proactively consider religious liberty concerns throughout the rulemaking process. It also emphasizes parental rights over children's religious upbringing and reinforces the doctrine of church autonomy.
"The Constitution protects religious liberty, not religious privilege," Elliott remarks. "This guidance instructs agencies to keep stretching the law in one direction, toward broader religious exemptions, while giving short shrift to the constitutional rights of everyone affected by those exemptions."
FFRF notes that the memorandum repeatedly privileges religious organizations in their dealings with the federal government. It directs agencies to preserve religious hiring exemptions even when organizations receive federal grants or contracts and states that religious entities generally cannot be required to choose between taxpayer funding and adhering to their religious beliefs. The guidance further embraces an expansive view of government religiosity, declaring that "religious activity in the public square and private religious expression by government employees cannot be proscribed via heckler's veto" and citing John Adams' oft-quoted statement that "our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people" despite the Constitution itself containing no religious requirement for citizenship or government.
The guidance also directs agencies to consult with the White House Faith Office and the Department of Justice on religious liberty questions before finalizing regulations or enforcement actions.
"The Constitution protects religious freedom for everyone, including the millions of Americans who are nonreligious," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Religious liberty means the government cannot favor one faith over another, or religion over nonreligion. This guidance instead elevates the demands of religious organizations above the public interest and the equal rights of others."
FFRF warns that the guidance is likely to embolden efforts to seek religious exemptions from civil rights laws, workplace protections and other generally applicable legal requirements, allowing religious entities to claim preferential treatment while shifting burdens onto employees, beneficiaries and members of the public.
"The Department of Justice should be defending the First Amendment in its entirety, not transforming it into a tool for advancing Christian nationalist priorities," Gaylor adds. "True religious freedom flourishes only when the government remains neutral on matters of religion."
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-lambastes-new-doj-guidance-expanding-religious-privilege/
[Category: Religion]
* * *
FFRF lambastes new DOJ guidance expanding religious privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice's newly issued guidance on religious liberty.
The Justice Department today released updated guidance replacing its 2017 memorandum on federal religious liberty protections and directing federal agencies to broadly accommodate religious exercise in employment, contracting, rulemaking, enforcement actions and grant programs. It also instructs ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, July 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release: * * * FFRF lambastes new DOJ guidance expanding religious privilege The Freedom From Religion Foundation is criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice's newly issued guidance on religious liberty. The Justice Department today released updated guidance replacing its 2017 memorandum on federal religious liberty protections and directing federal agencies to broadly accommodate religious exercise in employment, contracting, rulemaking, enforcement actions and grant programs. It also instructsagencies to proactively review regulations and policies for potential impacts on religious liberty and elevates religious interests throughout the federal administrative process. This is a sweeping effort to expand religious privilege throughout the federal government while further eroding the constitutional principle of church-state separation.
While the guidance purports to protect religious liberty, FFRF says it overwhelmingly emphasizes a favorable interpretation of the rights of religious believers and organizations while giving little attention to the constitutional rights of those who do not share those beliefs.
"This so-called religious liberty guidance is really a roadmap for privileging conservative Christianity at the expense of the constitutional rights of everyone else," says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. "Rather than reminding federal agencies that the First Amendment protects both the free exercise of religion and the prohibition against government establishment of religion, the Justice Department has produced a one-sided manifesto that treats religious belief as a trump card over neutral laws, civil rights protections and government accountability."
The updated memorandum repeatedly cites recent Supreme Court decisions to support expansive religious exemptions, endorses broad protections for religious organizations that discriminate in hiring and federal contracting, encourages agencies to accommodate religious objections whenever possible and instructs regulators to proactively consider religious liberty concerns throughout the rulemaking process. It also emphasizes parental rights over children's religious upbringing and reinforces the doctrine of church autonomy.
"The Constitution protects religious liberty, not religious privilege," Elliott remarks. "This guidance instructs agencies to keep stretching the law in one direction, toward broader religious exemptions, while giving short shrift to the constitutional rights of everyone affected by those exemptions."
FFRF notes that the memorandum repeatedly privileges religious organizations in their dealings with the federal government. It directs agencies to preserve religious hiring exemptions even when organizations receive federal grants or contracts and states that religious entities generally cannot be required to choose between taxpayer funding and adhering to their religious beliefs. The guidance further embraces an expansive view of government religiosity, declaring that "religious activity in the public square and private religious expression by government employees cannot be proscribed via heckler's veto" and citing John Adams' oft-quoted statement that "our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people" despite the Constitution itself containing no religious requirement for citizenship or government.
The guidance also directs agencies to consult with the White House Faith Office and the Department of Justice on religious liberty questions before finalizing regulations or enforcement actions.
"The Constitution protects religious freedom for everyone, including the millions of Americans who are nonreligious," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "Religious liberty means the government cannot favor one faith over another, or religion over nonreligion. This guidance instead elevates the demands of religious organizations above the public interest and the equal rights of others."
FFRF warns that the guidance is likely to embolden efforts to seek religious exemptions from civil rights laws, workplace protections and other generally applicable legal requirements, allowing religious entities to claim preferential treatment while shifting burdens onto employees, beneficiaries and members of the public.
"The Department of Justice should be defending the First Amendment in its entirety, not transforming it into a tool for advancing Christian nationalist priorities," Gaylor adds. "True religious freedom flourishes only when the government remains neutral on matters of religion."
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-lambastes-new-doj-guidance-expanding-religious-privilege/
[Category: Religion]
Damon Runyon Announces Newest Class of SPARK Scholars
NEW YORK, July 24 -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release:
* * *
Damon Runyon announces newest class of SPARK Scholars
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named the 2026 cohort of the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), a one-year cancer research internship for post-baccalaureate scholars. Launched in 2023, the program provides promising young talent with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond.
SPARK Scholars will conduct ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, July 24 -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release: * * * Damon Runyon announces newest class of SPARK Scholars The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named the 2026 cohort of the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), a one-year cancer research internship for post-baccalaureate scholars. Launched in 2023, the program provides promising young talent with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond. SPARK Scholars will conductresearch in the labs of current or former Damon Runyon scientists at partnering institutions around the country. Each Scholar will receive a stipend of up to $50,000, along with a living allowance and a travel stipend. Throughout the year, they will gather for unique programming to foster community among the cohort and strengthen the skills needed for a research career. They will also have the opportunity to present a poster at the annual Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreat alongside other Damon Runyon scientists in September.
"Being surrounded by incredible scientists who took all sorts of paths to get there helped me see what options are available," said Carli Newman, one of the inaugural SPARK Scholars and a current PhD student in the Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease program at the University of Washington. "I could better imagine myself in their shoes."
2026 Damon Runyon SPARK Scholars
Olumide Adesioye with her mentors A. Thomas Look, MD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), and Nina Weichert-Leahey, MD (Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist '23-'27), at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Olumide is a recent graduate of Brown University, where she majored in Immunobiology. Olumide was born and raised outside Chicago by parents who immigrated from Nigeria. After acquiring a passion for biology in her A.P. Bio class in high school, she continued her studies in the biology department at Brown, where she sought out research positions throughout her undergraduate career. Her recent senior honors thesis examined the effects of menopause on immune cell spatial distribution within the endocervix. She is looking forward to learning more about how the immune system can be exploited to fight cancer as a Damon Runyon SPARK Scholar. Olumide is a recipient of the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and a Brown Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, roller skating, photography, reading, and hair styling.
Margaret Hu with her mentor Todd Golub, MD (Damon Runyon Board Member, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Committee '07-'16), and Mounica Vallurupalli, MD (Damon Runyon-David M. Livingston, MD, Physician-Scientist '23-'27) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and the Broad Institute, Cambridge
Margaret was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in Biology and Sociology/Anthropology. Margaret was first exposed to cancer research in Dr. Todd Golub's lab, where she spent her undergraduate summers studying the tactics employed by leukemia to evade macrophage phagocytosis. This experience fostered her curiosity about cancer's complex, ever-evolving nature and the wide range of strategies available to target this disease. She aspires to explore human disease at the most fundamental level in order to design elegant and effective new therapies. Margaret's achievements have been recognized by the Patricia V. Damon Scholar Award from Carleton College. In her free time, she volunteers with her local hospital and patient advocacy organizations and loves to hike, play the piano, and pick up new crafting hobbies.
Aiyina Meng with her mentor K. Mark Ansel, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '01-'04), at the University of California, San Francisco
Aiyina was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Chinese immigrant parents, and has since lived in four states and three countries. She earned her B.S. in Biology and Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she developed her research foundation as a trainee in the federally funded Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement at WPI program. Driven by firsthand experiences watching loved ones navigate serious health challenges, Aiyina has long been motivated to pursue research with meaningful applications in human health and disease. Her research as an undergraduate deepened her commitment to uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying disease. Aiyina is passionate about translating fundamental science into real-world solutions. Her goal in research is ultimately to contribute to the development of more efficient, targeted cancer therapies. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, and cooking.
Deahzana Randall with her mentor Santosha A. Vardhana, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '23-'26, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '22-'24), at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Deahzana was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan as a first-generation college student, earning her B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Her interest in a research career arose from a personal genetic discovery, which sparked her desire to understand the scientific basis of disease. As an undergraduate, Deahzana was selected as a 2025 NK & Irene Cheung Scholar and completed a summer internship in the laboratory of Dr. Santosha Vardhana at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she explored mechanisms of T cell exhaustion. In the future, Deahzana hopes to attend graduate school with a goal of running her own laboratory and contributing meaningfully to the understanding of tumor progression and immune interactions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, hiking, and watching anime.
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Original text here: https://www.damonrunyon.org/news/damon-runyon-announces-newest-class-spark-scholars-0
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Damon Runyon announces newest class of SPARK Scholars
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named the 2026 cohort of the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), a one-year cancer research internship for post-baccalaureate scholars. Launched in 2023, the program provides promising young talent with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond.
SPARK Scholars will conduct ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, July 24 -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release: * * * Damon Runyon announces newest class of SPARK Scholars The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named the 2026 cohort of the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), a one-year cancer research internship for post-baccalaureate scholars. Launched in 2023, the program provides promising young talent with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond. SPARK Scholars will conductresearch in the labs of current or former Damon Runyon scientists at partnering institutions around the country. Each Scholar will receive a stipend of up to $50,000, along with a living allowance and a travel stipend. Throughout the year, they will gather for unique programming to foster community among the cohort and strengthen the skills needed for a research career. They will also have the opportunity to present a poster at the annual Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreat alongside other Damon Runyon scientists in September.
"Being surrounded by incredible scientists who took all sorts of paths to get there helped me see what options are available," said Carli Newman, one of the inaugural SPARK Scholars and a current PhD student in the Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease program at the University of Washington. "I could better imagine myself in their shoes."
2026 Damon Runyon SPARK Scholars
Olumide Adesioye with her mentors A. Thomas Look, MD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), and Nina Weichert-Leahey, MD (Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist '23-'27), at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Olumide is a recent graduate of Brown University, where she majored in Immunobiology. Olumide was born and raised outside Chicago by parents who immigrated from Nigeria. After acquiring a passion for biology in her A.P. Bio class in high school, she continued her studies in the biology department at Brown, where she sought out research positions throughout her undergraduate career. Her recent senior honors thesis examined the effects of menopause on immune cell spatial distribution within the endocervix. She is looking forward to learning more about how the immune system can be exploited to fight cancer as a Damon Runyon SPARK Scholar. Olumide is a recipient of the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and a Brown Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, roller skating, photography, reading, and hair styling.
Margaret Hu with her mentor Todd Golub, MD (Damon Runyon Board Member, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Committee '07-'16), and Mounica Vallurupalli, MD (Damon Runyon-David M. Livingston, MD, Physician-Scientist '23-'27) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and the Broad Institute, Cambridge
Margaret was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in Biology and Sociology/Anthropology. Margaret was first exposed to cancer research in Dr. Todd Golub's lab, where she spent her undergraduate summers studying the tactics employed by leukemia to evade macrophage phagocytosis. This experience fostered her curiosity about cancer's complex, ever-evolving nature and the wide range of strategies available to target this disease. She aspires to explore human disease at the most fundamental level in order to design elegant and effective new therapies. Margaret's achievements have been recognized by the Patricia V. Damon Scholar Award from Carleton College. In her free time, she volunteers with her local hospital and patient advocacy organizations and loves to hike, play the piano, and pick up new crafting hobbies.
Aiyina Meng with her mentor K. Mark Ansel, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '01-'04), at the University of California, San Francisco
Aiyina was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Chinese immigrant parents, and has since lived in four states and three countries. She earned her B.S. in Biology and Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she developed her research foundation as a trainee in the federally funded Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement at WPI program. Driven by firsthand experiences watching loved ones navigate serious health challenges, Aiyina has long been motivated to pursue research with meaningful applications in human health and disease. Her research as an undergraduate deepened her commitment to uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying disease. Aiyina is passionate about translating fundamental science into real-world solutions. Her goal in research is ultimately to contribute to the development of more efficient, targeted cancer therapies. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, and cooking.
Deahzana Randall with her mentor Santosha A. Vardhana, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '23-'26, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '22-'24), at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Deahzana was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan as a first-generation college student, earning her B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Her interest in a research career arose from a personal genetic discovery, which sparked her desire to understand the scientific basis of disease. As an undergraduate, Deahzana was selected as a 2025 NK & Irene Cheung Scholar and completed a summer internship in the laboratory of Dr. Santosha Vardhana at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she explored mechanisms of T cell exhaustion. In the future, Deahzana hopes to attend graduate school with a goal of running her own laboratory and contributing meaningfully to the understanding of tumor progression and immune interactions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, hiking, and watching anime.
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Original text here: https://www.damonrunyon.org/news/damon-runyon-announces-newest-class-spark-scholars-0
As You Sow Condemns EEOC Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Workforce Composition Data Investors Need to Assess Risk
OAKLAND, California, July 24 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release:
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As You Sow Condemns EEOC Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Workforce Composition Data Investors Need to Assess Risk
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The proposed rescission of EEO-1 employment data and related reports would end the federal government's 60 year-long collection of standardized workforce data -despite research showing that the same data is important to predicting company financial performance.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407
EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA -July 24, 2026 - As You Sow, the ... Show Full Article OAKLAND, California, July 24 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release: * * * As You Sow Condemns EEOC Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Workforce Composition Data Investors Need to Assess Risk * The proposed rescission of EEO-1 employment data and related reports would end the federal government's 60 year-long collection of standardized workforce data -despite research showing that the same data is important to predicting company financial performance. MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407 EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA -July 24, 2026 - As You Sow, thenation's leading shareholder representative, today raised deep concern about the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's vote to issue a notice of proposed rule-making rescinding the requirement that employers file annual EEO-1 and related reports summarizing workforce demographic data. The proposal would end a data collection practice that has successfully operated for more than half a century, and which investors depend on to evaluate human capital risk in companies.
EEO-1 data is one of the only standardized, comparable sources of workforce composition data available to investors. Because employers report the information to the federal government in a consistent format, investors can compare companies on an objective basis rather than relying on corporate marketing or voluntary diversity claims. Eliminating the requirement would remove that comparability at a moment when investors are increasingly focused on workforce stability, human capital management, and the operational risks of rapid workforce change.
"The EEOC is proposing to switch off one of the few objective windows investors have into how public companies manage their workforces," said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow. "This data is not a compliance nicety, it is decision-useful financial information. Removing it does not make workforce risk disappear; it simply blinds investors to existing risk and forces them to rely on whatever companies choose to say about themselves. That is diametrically opposite of the transparency efficient markets require."
Yesterday, As You Sow will released an updated edition of its Capturing the Diversity Benefit report which analyzed nine years of EEO-1 data from 1,482 companies. The analysis found that greater representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in management was significantly and positively associated with income after tax, five- and ten-year revenue growth, return on equity, return on invested capital, free cash flow per share, and five- and ten-year share price appreciation.
"By suppressing information, the EEOC deprives companies, investors, researchers, and the market of useful information that cannot be reconstructed once collection stops," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. "You cannot go back in time to gather years of workforce data that was never recorded. It is a permanent loss dressed up as paperwork reduction."
This proposed recission is part of a broader pattern of federal action suppressing information of value to investors and the public. Voluntary EEO-1 disclosure among large companies has been declining over the past couple of years due to intense anti-DEI pressure on companies.
Based on EEO-1 data acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, our report found that most companies choosing not to disclose voluntarily have measurably less diverse management. This makes the information most valuable precisely where it is least likely to be volunteered. If the federal mandate ends, that critical information disappears.
Investors and other interested parties will be able to comment on the proposed rescission of key human capital management data during the 30-day public comment period which opens upon publication in the Federal Register. The EEOC has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for August 11, 2026.
As You Sow will submit formal comments and continue to press companies to gather and voluntarily disclose workforce data, whatever the outcome of the federal requirement, to promote transparency about workplace diversity, a factor correlated with better financial outcomes.
As You Sow is the nation's leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. As You Sow addresses a range of issues that affect shareholder value including climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. See As You Sow 's shareholder resolution tracker.
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Original text here: https://www.asyousow.org/press-releases/2026/7/23/as-you-sow-condemns-eeoc-proposal-to-eliminate-collection-of-workforce-composition-data-investors-need-to-assess-risk
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As You Sow Condemns EEOC Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Workforce Composition Data Investors Need to Assess Risk
*
The proposed rescission of EEO-1 employment data and related reports would end the federal government's 60 year-long collection of standardized workforce data -despite research showing that the same data is important to predicting company financial performance.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407
EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA -July 24, 2026 - As You Sow, the ... Show Full Article OAKLAND, California, July 24 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release: * * * As You Sow Condemns EEOC Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Workforce Composition Data Investors Need to Assess Risk * The proposed rescission of EEO-1 employment data and related reports would end the federal government's 60 year-long collection of standardized workforce data -despite research showing that the same data is important to predicting company financial performance. MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407 EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA -July 24, 2026 - As You Sow, thenation's leading shareholder representative, today raised deep concern about the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's vote to issue a notice of proposed rule-making rescinding the requirement that employers file annual EEO-1 and related reports summarizing workforce demographic data. The proposal would end a data collection practice that has successfully operated for more than half a century, and which investors depend on to evaluate human capital risk in companies.
EEO-1 data is one of the only standardized, comparable sources of workforce composition data available to investors. Because employers report the information to the federal government in a consistent format, investors can compare companies on an objective basis rather than relying on corporate marketing or voluntary diversity claims. Eliminating the requirement would remove that comparability at a moment when investors are increasingly focused on workforce stability, human capital management, and the operational risks of rapid workforce change.
"The EEOC is proposing to switch off one of the few objective windows investors have into how public companies manage their workforces," said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow. "This data is not a compliance nicety, it is decision-useful financial information. Removing it does not make workforce risk disappear; it simply blinds investors to existing risk and forces them to rely on whatever companies choose to say about themselves. That is diametrically opposite of the transparency efficient markets require."
Yesterday, As You Sow will released an updated edition of its Capturing the Diversity Benefit report which analyzed nine years of EEO-1 data from 1,482 companies. The analysis found that greater representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in management was significantly and positively associated with income after tax, five- and ten-year revenue growth, return on equity, return on invested capital, free cash flow per share, and five- and ten-year share price appreciation.
"By suppressing information, the EEOC deprives companies, investors, researchers, and the market of useful information that cannot be reconstructed once collection stops," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. "You cannot go back in time to gather years of workforce data that was never recorded. It is a permanent loss dressed up as paperwork reduction."
This proposed recission is part of a broader pattern of federal action suppressing information of value to investors and the public. Voluntary EEO-1 disclosure among large companies has been declining over the past couple of years due to intense anti-DEI pressure on companies.
Based on EEO-1 data acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, our report found that most companies choosing not to disclose voluntarily have measurably less diverse management. This makes the information most valuable precisely where it is least likely to be volunteered. If the federal mandate ends, that critical information disappears.
Investors and other interested parties will be able to comment on the proposed rescission of key human capital management data during the 30-day public comment period which opens upon publication in the Federal Register. The EEOC has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for August 11, 2026.
As You Sow will submit formal comments and continue to press companies to gather and voluntarily disclose workforce data, whatever the outcome of the federal requirement, to promote transparency about workplace diversity, a factor correlated with better financial outcomes.
As You Sow is the nation's leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. As You Sow addresses a range of issues that affect shareholder value including climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. See As You Sow 's shareholder resolution tracker.
***
Original text here: https://www.asyousow.org/press-releases/2026/7/23/as-you-sow-condemns-eeoc-proposal-to-eliminate-collection-of-workforce-composition-data-investors-need-to-assess-risk