Accenture to pay $25 million to settle US workplace discrimination claims

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 US Justice Department had accused the company of failing to comply with anti-discrimination requirements in federal contracts.

 

According to the US Department of Justice, most federal contracts contain a provision requiring contractors to provide equal opportunity to employees and applicants for employment. As a condition of being a federal contractor, a company must certify that it will not discriminate against an employee or applicant for employment because of race or sex. It must also certify that it will take steps to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, “without regard to” race or sex.

 

 

The settlement resolves allegations that from 2017 to the present, Accenture falsely certified compliance with these conditions. In an official release, Associate Attorney General Stanley E Woodward Jr. said, “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.”

 

What did the US government accuse Accenture of?

 

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 the specific percentage of each race and sex within the unit. The figures were highlighted in green, yellow or red to indicate whether representation was at or exceeded Accenture's goal, was within 5 per cent of the goal, or was below 5 per cent.

 

According to the US Justice Department, these demographic goals were designed to, and did, drive changes in hiring practices based on race and sex. For example, at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, the firm engaged in a round of entry-level employee hiring to make further progress towards the company's racial representation goals.

 

The US government further alleged that Accenture took race or sex into account when making promotion decisions. For example, when considering managing director promotions, the firm conducted a separate discussion of candidates who furthered the firm's race or sex demographic goals to ensure that these candidates received extra visibility with leaders responsible for making promotion decisions.

 

According to the Justice Department, the firm also highlighted in colour the names of candidates who furthered the company's demographic goals to distinguish them from other candidates during the promotion review process. The company also developed a separate “pipeline” of potential promotion candidates.

 

The US government alleged that Accenture offered certain training, mentoring, leadership development programmes and educational opportunities where eligibility was limited by race or sex. For example, from August 2022 to February 2025, it 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.

 

What has Accenture said about the allegations?

 

Accenture said it complied with applicable laws and that the resolution agreement did not constitute an admission of liability. “We have cooperated with the government's review, and we are pleased to put this matter behind us to avoid the costs and resource demands of prolonged litigation,” an Accenture spokesperson said, reported Reuters. The settlement agreement said Accenture denied engaging in discrimination.

 

In recent times, many US companies have scaled back or modified diversity policies following Trump's orders. Deloitte agreed to pay $21.5 million to settle a Justice Department probe over diversity practices, according to an agreement made public in August. IBM agreed to pay $17 million to settle a similar US government probe, an agreement revealed in April.