The Trump administration is stepping up its war on DEI, reportedly launching probes about the use of diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion at companies including Google and Verizon.
The Justice Department’s investigations come under the aegis of the False Claims Act, a statute traditionally used to recover money from companies that overbill the government or inflate the cost of services rendered, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche outlined the initiative in a May memo that directed DOJ officials “to investigate and, as appropriate, pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds” that based its hiring policies on DEI, according to The Journal.
The effort is part of a broader DOJ push to use the False Claims Act as a civil rights enforcement tool, a significant expansion of a law historically aimed at rooting out financial fraud in areas such as defense contracting and healthcare billing.
Under the Trump administration’s legal theory, companies that certify compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws while maintaining DEI programs deemed discriminatory could be accused of submitting “false claims” for government payment.
Alphabet’s Google and Verizon have already received Justice Department demands for documents and information related to their workplace diversity programs, according to people familiar with the investigations.
It was not immediately known which other companies may be facing DOJ probes related to...
The False Claims Act (FCA), a 162-year-old statute originally designed to combat fraud by defense contractors during the American Civil War. The Department of Justice has launched an expansive inv...