Nearly a year after launching a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on 10 April 2026 its first False Claims Act (FCA) resolution targeting employment practices that it contends violated federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into government contracts.1 The civil settlement—the first public instance in which the Trump administration has utilized the FCA and its treble damages provisions in the context of DEI—makes clear that this area remains a priority for the DOJ and, for government contractors and other federal fund recipients, provides insight regarding the types of practices that may be called into question.
The settlement resolves claims that certain International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) employment practices allegedly considered race, color, national origin, or sex (protected characteristics) in ways that conflicted with contractually required equal employment obligations. The settlement resolves alleged practices dating back to 2019, which included:
Medicare and Medicaid provide health care coverage to millions of Americans and are aggressively protected by federal and state authorities. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of In...