EXCLUSIVE — A top medical internship program designed to offer career opportunities in the regenerative medicine sector is facing criticism for "racially discriminatory" preferences favoring only black students, according to a new complaint.
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine was accused of unlawful racial discrimination in a complaint filed Thursday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the advocacy group Do No Harm. The complaint accuses ARM, which describes itself as the "leading international advocacy" group for regenerative medicine practices, of operating a racially exclusive internship program that violates federal law.
“To flagrantly discriminate against applicants because of their race is reprehensible and unlawful — the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine should be investigated and the program shut down,” Do No Harm Board Chairman Stanley Goldfarb said.
Do No Harm, a national organization advocating against discriminatory practices in healthcare, claims ARM’s GROW RegenMed Internship Program unlawfully restricts eligibility to black students.
The program, which collaborates with multiple biotech companies, provides paid internships and additional benefits to selected candidates. However, the program’s eligibility criteria explicitly state that applicants must identify as black or African American, according to an online application.
The complaint asserts that this restriction contravenes Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, including in apprenticeship and training programs.
“Do No Harm has at least one member who meets all nonracial eligibility requirements but is ineligible to apply because of ARM’s race requirement,” the letter reads.
ARM claims its internship program aims to increase the representation of black employees in the regenerative medicine sector and promote the organization’s commitment to diversity. However, Do No Harm argues that such racial criteria are discriminatory and prevent qualified candidates from competing on equal terms.
"The opportunity to engage in the sciences should be open to the best and the brightest and never be based on the color of one's skin," Goldfarb said, adding that the EEOC "needs to open an investigation into ARM immediately."
The complaint references several provisions of Title VII, emphasizing that it is unlawful to discriminate in hiring, compensation, and training opportunities based on race. It also cites that a member of Do No Harm, who is currently enrolled in a graduate program and who meets all other criteria, is barred from the internship solely due to his race, exemplifying the alleged discriminatory impact.
ARM represents more than "400 members across 25 countries," including established biotechnology companies and academic and research institutions, according to its webpage.
A spokesman for ARM said the group is "committed to administering the GROW program in a manner that is consistent with last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling and with our mission to provide talented young people from a wide range of backgrounds with access to employment in the cell and gene therapy sector." The spokesman declined to say whether or not ARM would remove the language from the application requiring interns to "identify as Black/African American."
Do Not Harm's complaint comes as major corporations and businesses are reevaluating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling that struck down affirmative action practices last year.
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The decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard pertained to education, but various legal groups have pointed out that if racial preferences are barred in public universities, then the same standard should apply to employment and paid internship programs.
This week, Microsoft became the most recent corporation to disband its DEI team citing "changing business needs," according to Business Insider.
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