Accenture has agreed to pay the US government $25 million to settle allegations that its federal services business considered race and sex in hiring, promotions and access to some employee development programmes.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged that Accenture Federal Services (AFS) falsely certified its compliance with anti-discrimination requirements attached to federal contracts while using race and sex in employment decisions from 2017 onwards.
The government alleged that AFS used non-public workforce composition goals to influence hiring decisions, with business leaders receiving monthly reports showing the percentage of employees by race and sex and how closely the workforce matched representation targets.
According to the Department of Justice, the demographic goals influenced hiring practices and prompted a round of entry-level recruitment at the company in late 2020 and early 2021.
The department also alleged that candidates who advanced AFS’ demographic goals received additional visibility during managing director promotion discussions.
AFS was further accused of restricting access to some training, mentoring, leadership development and education programmes based on race or sex.
The settlement agreement does not constitute an admission of liability by Accenture.
An Accenture spokesperson told Reuters that the company had co-operated with the government’s review and welcomed the resolution of the matter to avoid the costs and resource demands of prolonged litigation.
The settlement comes amid action by the Donald Trump administration against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices across the federal government and its contractors.
Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million in August, while IBM agreed to a $17 million settlement in April over allegations concerning illegal DEI practices.
Last year, US operators T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T ended or scaled back diversity initiatives.
