Overview
- Google and Verizon received Justice Department demands for documents about workplace diversity programs, according to reporting based on people familiar with the probes.
- Investigators are using the False Claims Act under an implied certification approach that frames DEI-related misstatements as potentially material to government payment.
- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche set the strategy in a May memo creating a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative and directing coordination between the Civil Rights Division, the Fraud Section and U.S. Attorneys.
- Scrutiny reaches beyond tech into automotive, defense, utilities and pharmaceuticals, prompting many contractors to reassess or roll back DEI policies.
- Legal experts say the novel theory may face hurdles in court, but exposure includes treble damages and incentives for whistleblower qui tam suits.