FEDERAL CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE ALERT: $25 Million Accenture Settlement – Civil Rights Noncompliance Can Become False Claims Act Exposure

Federal contractors should take notice. On September 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Accenture Federal Services, Accenture plc, and Accenture LLP agreed to pay $25 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with nondiscrimination requirements in federal contracts while allegedly discriminating in employment…
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Part 2: Before You Certify, Verify

A Pragmatic Compliance Framework for Federal Contractors The IBM and Deloitte settlements do not mean that contractors should stop conducting outreach, reviewing workforce data, or working to ensure equal employment opportunity. They demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between two very different activities: Using workforce data to identify and remove possible barriers; and Using protected characteristics…
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Part 1: When Civil Rights Compliance Becomes a False Claims Act Risk

How DOJ Is Connecting Civil-Rights Compliance to the False Claims Act Federal contractors are entering a new era of civil-rights enforcement. On August 25, 2026, Deloitte, a Federal Contractor, agreed to pay $21.5 million to resolve Department of Justice allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by certifying compliance with federal-contract nondiscrimination requirements while…
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Part 2: Workforce Diagnostic Analytics, The Missing Risk Management Tool

The most important lesson from recent DOJ investigations is not that discrimination exists. The most important lesson is that the government is increasingly using data, statistical evidence, and outcome analyses to identify potential violations. Federal contractors should be doing the same. What Are Workforce Diagnostic Analytics? Workforce diagnostic analytics are statistical and compliance analyses designed…
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Breaking News: EEOC Reaffirms the Importance of Applicant Demographic Data Collection for Title VII Compliance

EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines Survive: Why Employers Should Continue Collecting Applicant Demographic Data In a development that may surprise many employers, the federal government has quietly reaffirmed one of the most important—and often misunderstood—compliance frameworks in employment law. On June 24, 2026, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) approved, without change, the…
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