Deloitte to Pay $21.5 Million to Settle DEI-Related Federal Contracting Allegations

Deloitte has agreed to pay the United States $21.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying compliance with federal anti-discrimination contracting requirements while allegedly engaging in race and sex-based employment practices between 2017 and the present. The settlement, announced by the Justice Department under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, does not include a determination of liability; per the department's own release, the claims resolved are "allegations only."

 

Federal contracts typically require contractors to certify they will provide equal employment opportunity "without regard to" race or sex as a condition of receiving federal funds. The government alleged Deloitte tracked demographic workforce composition goals within business units through monthly summaries using a colour-coded system, and that for a two-year period, compensation for approximately 150 of the firm's most senior Partners, Principals and Managing Directors could be affected if their business units failed to meet these goals. The government further alleged promotion candidate lists were annotated by race and sex, that staffing decisions sought statistical parity between employees identified as "Under Represented Minorities" and other staff who were unstaffed or "on the bench," and that certain career development programmes, including ones named Springboard and Compass, limited eligibility based on race or sex.

 

UPCOMING WEBINAR

AI academy: Two real ESG workflows saving days of manual work

Online, 03 September 2026 · Turning days of emissions data work into minutes with audit-ready AI workflows

 

Attorney General Todd Blanche said "government contractors cannot reward or penalize employees based on race or sex — and labeling the practice DEI does not make it lawful." Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said contractors "must certify that they will make employment decisions without regard to race or sex, and they must honor that commitment — not circumvent it through demographic targets or programs that allocate opportunities based on protected characteristics." The case originated as a whistleblower action filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights under the False Claims Act, which allows private parties to bring claims on the government's behalf in exchange for a share of any recovery; the relator will receive $4.3 million of the total settlement.

 

Source: U.S. Department of Justice