IT consulting firm Accenture has agreed to pay $25 million to settle US government allegations that its federal services arm discriminated against employees and job applicants based on race or sex. The settlement was signed by the US Department of Justice and Accenture, with the payment including civil penalties and interest at a 4% per annum rate from September 9, 2026. According to the US Department of Justice, most federal contracts contain provisions requiring contractors to provide equal opportunity to employees and applicants for employment, with companies required to certify they will not discriminate against employees or applicants because of race or sex. However, Accenture denied engaging in discrimination and stated that the resolution agreement did not constitute an admission of liability.
The US government alleged that Accenture took race or sex into account when making hiring decisions to achieve progress towards non-public workforce composition goals. Business unit leaders received monthly summaries showing specific percentage of each race and sex within the unit, with figures highlighted in green, yellow, or red to indicate whether representation was at or exceeded Accenture's goal, was within 5% of the goal, or was below 5%. These demographic goals were designed to drive changes in hiring practices based on race and sex, with the firm conducting entry-level employee hiring at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 to make further progress towards racial representation goals. The government further alleged that Accenture took race or sex into account when making promotion decisions, conducting separate discussions of candidates who furthered the firm's demographic goals to ensure extra visibility with leaders responsible for making promotion decisions.
The US government alleged that Accenture offered certain training, mentoring, leadership development programmes and educational opportunities where eligibility was limited by race or sex. From August 2022 to February 2025, the company ran the Amplify to Elevate training programme, which reserved participation for employees based on race and was designed to boost the career prospects of these employees over others through mentorship and networking. The settlement resolves allegations that from 2017 to the present, Accenture falsely certified compliance with anti-discrimination requirements in federal contracts, with the government stating these practices were unconstitutional discriminatory employment practices.
The settlement comes as the Trump administration has penalized public and private organizations over DEI practices that civil rights advocates say help address historic inequities for marginalized groups including women, the LGBT community and ethnic minorities. The White House casts DEI as anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men, with Trump signing executive orders asking federal contractors and subcontractors to eliminate DEI. Civil rights groups argue such steps roll back social progress, while many US companies have scaled back or modified diversity policies after Trump's orders. Associate Attorney General Stanley E Woodward Jr. emphasized that "Opportunity and promotion in the workplace must be earned through merit," adding that "Today's resolution makes unmistakably clear that the Department will continue to aggressively pursue unconstitutional discriminatory employment practices."
This settlement follows similar agreements by other major companies, with Deloitte agreeing to pay $21.5 million to settle a DOJ probe over diversity practices in August, and IBM agreeing to pay $17 million to settle a similar US government probe in April. The Justice Department had alleged that Accenture denied engaging in discrimination, though the company stated it complied with applicable laws and that the resolution agreement did not constitute an admission of liability. An Accenture spokesperson said the company has cooperated with the government's review and is pleased to put this matter behind them to avoid the costs and resource demands of prolonged litigation.
