Expedia offered me $650K job but changed their mind because I'm white

• Expedia told Texas dad Michael Kascsak, 49, he was their 'top pick' for the job
• Then they went for 'diversity' hire Bernita Dillard, a black California woman 
• READ MORE: Sidelined Iraq war veteran sues top US bank over diversity push

A white executive has sued Expedia, saying the travel website offered him $650,000 to head a division only to backtrack and give his job to a 'safer' candidate — a black woman.

Michael Kascsak, 49, a married dad-of-one from Austin, Texas, says Expedia gave him the runaround for months before making him America's latest victim of reverse racism.

Expedia told him they had instead selected the 'diversity' candidate Bernita Dillard, who is now the company's San Francisco-based head of talent inclusion, he says.

Kascsak mostly blames Michael Velasco, Expedia's Brooklyn-based diversity chief, saying he stepped in and pushed for a woman candidate with a different skin color.

Gene Hamilton, a lawyer with America First Legal (AFL), the action group that on Monday joined the lawsuit, said Kascsak had suffered from discrimination.

Michael Kascsak, 49, of Austin, Texas, says Expedia gave him the runaround for months before opting for a 'diversity' hire.

The company instead promoted an internal candidate, San Francisco-based Bernita Dillard, who previously worked at DoorDash, Facebook, and Google.

Americans should be 'treated equally and judged based on merit — not arbitrarily discriminated against because of their race,' he added.

It's the latest in a series of lawsuits aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), policies in corporate America.

Advocates of DEI say it helps get more women and minorities into colleges and workplaces, but critics say it ends up hurting straight, white men.

Kascsak's 35-page document was filed at the US District Court in the Western District of Texas.

He says he suffered 'immense harms' and seeks a jury trial, compensation, and his legal costs covered.

The $13 billion-a-year Seattle-based travel and technology firm did not answer DailyMail.com's request for comment.

On its website, Expedia says it is 'dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for everyone race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, disability' and other characteristics.

According to the suit, Expedia reached out to Kascsak in April 2023 about becoming their global talent boss.

The family breadwinner has 'exceptional qualifications' after working at Bank of America, Capital One, and PayPal, papers show.

After several interviews, Kascsak was told he was the 'front-runner' and their 'top pick,' he says.

In mid-May, he was verbally offered the job — with a $330,000-a-year salary, $225,000 in Expedia stock, and a $100,000 cash signing bonus.

Kascsak is especially angry with Michael Velasco, Expedia's Brooklyn-based diversity chief, for allegedly pushing him aside for a diversity hire

The $13 billion-a-year Seattle-based travel and technology firm has an aggressive DEI policy

Weeks later, however, Kascsak was told about a 'reorganization' and how Expedia was going in a 'different direction with the role,' the papers show.

In June, Kascsak found out from LinkedIn posts that Expedia was searching for alternatives.

He later learned that the company's DEI tsar Velasco had stepped in to 'preclude' Kascsak from getting the contract.

The firm even arranged for Kascsak to meet Velasco about the job in New York, but Velasco pulled out at the last minute.

Velasco and the company wanted to go in a 'safer direction' and get a more 'diverse' candidate, it is claimed.

Expedia ultimately promoted an internal candidate, Dillard, their director of diversity sourcing.

Dillard's LinkedIn profile shows she also has an impressive resume, with experience at DoorDash, Facebook, and Google.

The lawsuit shows how Expedia has for years pushed hard on diversity hiring targets.

The company was in 2022 aiming for half its workforce to be women, and a quarter to hail from racial minorities.

Michael Kascsak has 'exceptional qualifications' after working at Bank of America, Capital One, and PayPal, papers show.

Its CEO Peter Kern once described 'systemic racism' as a 'plague' for which 'we all must be a part of the solution,' the suit says.

Expedia recruiters even get bonuses for hitting diversity-hiring goals, the papers say.

'Anti-discrimination law exists to ensure the most deserving is hired, like Kascsak here,' says the suit.

'That doesn't always happen, but it does not permit companies like Expedia to illegally rebuke civil rights law by elevating some candidates while harming others based on immutable traits.'

The case is part of a growing number of suits and filings against DEI practices since the US Supreme Court's landmark June 2023 ruling to end affirmative action in college admissions.

AFL, which is led by former President Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller, has filed more than 15 lawsuits and more than 30 complaints to a US civil rights agency.

Lawsuits have claimed that hiring and recruitment decisions made around both jobs and fellowships at large companies are biased against white workers.

Advocates of DEI schemes say they bring more black, brown, female, and queer talent into offices and colleges and raise morale across the board.

But critics say they're a 'woke' virtue-signaling exercise that fosters backlash discrimination against straight, white men.

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