One of President Trump’s first actions as his second term opened was a public campaign to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion from the public and private sectors. That pledge got a significant shot in the arm last week.
Tech giant IBM on Friday agreed to pay the federal government $17 million in what is considered a first-of-its-kind settlement stemming from the newly created “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” of the U.S. Department of Justice. The department created the unit last year to root out private companies’ DEI initiatives that the government deemed fraudulent, leveraging the False Claims Act.
The DOJ alleged that IBM violated federal contracting requirements that prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment based on a candidate or employee’s race, color, national origin or sex, and that it “knowingly maintained practices that the United States contends were discriminatory employment practices,” according to the DOJ.
Specifically, the department says IBM used a “diversity modifier” to consider demographic targets in bonus allocation; prioritized diverse interview slates based on race and sex; used such characteristics in its pursuit of demographic employment goals for business units; and factored race and sex into the availability of certain training and development opportunities.
The settlement includes the stipulation that “this agreement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not...
By Victor Ahiuma-Young The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced stricter advertising rules for Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, warning operators against false claims, misleading ...