Deloitte Pays $21.5M to Settle DOJ DEI Probe

Deloitte has agreed to pay the federal government $21.5 million to settle Justice Department claims that it discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of race or sex.

The DOJ alleged the consulting giant violated the False Claims Act — the government's main anti-fraud law — by certifying that it complied with the anti-discrimination requirements attached to its federal contracts while running race- and sex-conscious employment practices. The settlement covers alleged conduct from 2017 to the present.

Deloitte denied the conduct and did not admit liability.

What the Government Alleged

Federal contractors must certify that they will not discriminate on the basis of race or sex, and that applicants are hired and employees treated "without regard to" race or sex. The government said Deloitte took race and sex into account in hiring, promotion and staffing decisions while chasing non-public workforce composition goals.

Business units received monthly summaries tracking those demographic goals, according to the DOJ, and managers were evaluated on their contributions toward hitting them. For a two-year period, the compensation of roughly 150 of Deloitte's most senior partners, principals and managing directors could be affected if their business units missed the firm's demographic targets.

In one instance cited by the government, after a group of candidates for those senior roles initially met Deloitte's demographic targets, the firm allegedly identified candidates by race and sex in a spreadsheet circulated during the selection process and recommended promoting specific employees to "equitably maintain the current mix."

The United States also alleged Deloitte ran two career programs, Springboard and Compass, that limited eligibility by race and sex, and that the firm restricted certain training, mentorship, leadership development and educational opportunities to employees of a particular sex or race.

Deloitte holds billions of dollars in federal contracts, consulting for agencies including the Department of War, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security.