The Department of Justice has announced another major settlement to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act, this time concerning IT technology consulting firm Accenture. This compliance alert explores the infractions presented by the DOJ and the implications for federal contractor hiring and employment practices.
Summary
On Monday, September 14, the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs published a press release announcing that Accenture Federal Services (AFS), Accenture plc, and Accenture LLP will pay the United States $25 million to resolve an alleged False Claims Act violation. Accenture is accused of failing to comply with the anti-discrimination requirements in its federal contracts, something the DOJ alleges it “falsely certified” as complying with, forming the basis of their False Claims Act case.
Specifically, Accenture is said to have taken race and/or sex into account when making hiring decisions in order to achieve progress toward non-public workforce composition goals.
This included:
- The use of green/yellow/red indicators to visually signal whether race and sex representation percentages had achieved or fallen short of Accenture’s alleged goals for representation in business unit leader reporting.
- The alleged use of the aforementioned percentages to inform an entry-level hiring wave with the purpose of making further progress toward representation goals.
- Conducting a separate discussion during managing director promotions focused on candidates who furthered AFS’ race or sex demographic goals. Names of candidates that furthered these goals were also allegedly highlighted in a different color.
- Limiting access to certain training, mentoring, leadership, and educational programs along demographic lines. For example, Accenture operated an “Amplify to Elevate” training, mentorship, and networking program reserved for employees based on race.
In a similar settlement at the end of August, Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million. Neither settlement resulted in a finding of liability.
Who Is Impacted and What Actions Are Required?
This is just the latest in a series of False Claims Act-related enforcement actions by the DOJ, and it is unlikely to be the last. It’s nonetheless another important reminder that the DOJ is actively investigating federal contractors who run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and initiatives that rely on protected characteristics.
Since creating the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative in May 2025, the DOJ has publicly announced at least three major employment-discrimination/DEI-related resolutions totaling approximately $63.5 million in recoveries, signaling active use of False Claims Act theories against employers receiving federal funds.
As with the Deloitte settlement, we would like to restate Affirmity’s position that tracking demographic data is not contrary to equal opportunity law. More importantly, robust workforce analytics are a prerequisite for EEO compliance: organizations that fail to monitor and investigate adverse impact against any group will have no way of defending themselves when plaintiffs take legal action.
We advise all federal contractors to consider whether their data collection and analysis focuses only on a subset of classes (e.g. only women or only certain racial or ethnic groups). Arguably, by omitting other statistically significant groups from these studies, organizations may invite allegations of goal or quota use because of the implication that the organization doesn’t consider possible discrimination against these groups worthy of monitoring.
If, as alleged in recent FCA cases, outcomes for groups based on race or gender is subsequently tied to consequences for managers, or factored into the selection process for promotions, contractors may well be crossing a line and putting themselves at increased risk.
Similarly, offering training, mentoring, leadership development programs, educational opportunities, and resources through nominally demographic-aligned employee engagement programs is only risk-free when those groups are open and accessible to all employees.
How Affirmity Can Help
Compliance is no longer enough: your focus needs to be on workforce data readiness. Affirmity can help you prepare to understand, monitor, and defend your workforce decisions, assisting with:
- Workforce compliance services
- Workforce analysis software and services
- Compensation and pay equity analysis
- DEI Risk Assessment Services
Protect your organization from shifting agency priorities: Contact our team of experts today.
About the Author
Brad Wiltshire is a Manager of Consulting Services at Affirmity. He has 18 years of experience developing Affirmative Action Plans as well as EEO-1 and VETS-4212 reports for clients across many industries. A former attorney, Mr. Wiltshire’s legal background has helped him provide ongoing guidance and support for OFCCP audits and other compliance needs. Connect with him on LinkedIn.