Dive Brief:

• Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice allegations that its diversity, equity and inclusion practices failed to comply with federal antidiscrimination requirements in violation of the False Claims Act, according to a settlement agreement shared Tuesday by the department.
• “Government contractors cannot reward or penalize employees based on race or sex — and labeling the practice DEI does not make it lawful,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a DOJ statement.
• The Big Four professional services firm denies the allegations and does not admit liability, according to the settlement agreement. The company did not respond to a request for comment before press time.

Dive Insight:

The settlement marks another False Claims Act resolution realized under DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which was launched in May 2025. The goal of the initiative is to pursue claims against federal funds recipients who violate federal civil rights laws, DOJ said.

DOJ’s efforts are part of a larger push by the Trump administration to advance its anti-DEI agenda, particularly among federal workers and contractors.

“Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk,” then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi said when the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative was announced.

In this case, Deloitte engaged in discriminatory race- and sex-based employment practices from...

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