Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it violated federal anti-discrimination requirements in its government contracts by using race and sex as factors in employment decisions.
The settlement, announced Tuesday, resolves claims that Deloitte falsely certified compliance with equal-opportunity requirements while operating internal programs that used demographic targets to shape hiring, promotions, and staffing decisions from 2017 to the present, the Justice Department said.
The department alleged that business units within Deloitte received monthly reports tracking progress toward demographic goals, with color-coded indicators showing whether units were meeting targets. For a two-year period, compensation for roughly 150 of Deloitte's most senior partners, principals, and managing directors could be affected if their units fell short of demographic goals, according to the department. Senior leaders were also evaluated, in part, on their contributions to meeting those workforce composition targets.
The government further alleged that Deloitte identified employees available for project staffing by race and sex, and suggested that staffing managers consider assigning those workers in ways that would help the firm reach demographic parity goals. Deloitte also offered certain training, mentorship, and leadership development programs, including ones called Springboard and Compass, where eligibility was limited by race or sex, the...
Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it violated federal anti-discrimination requirements in its government contracts by using race and sex as factors...