Overview
- IBM, which reached the agreement April 10, will pay $17,077,043 inclusive of penalties to resolve claims it falsely certified compliance with anti-discrimination rules in federal contracts.
- Justice Department filings say IBM tied bonuses to demographic targets, used diverse interview slates that changed who could be interviewed, set race and sex goals for units, and limited some training and mentoring by race or sex.
- The payout reflects about $8.2 million in single damages with a roughly 2x False Claims Act multiplier after cooperation credit.
- Prosecutors also allege IBM charged costs for those DEI programs to federal contracts and then sought reimbursement from the government.
- IBM denies wrongdoing and received credit for early disclosures and program changes, and the first case under DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative is expected to prompt more qui tam suits and contractor reviews of DEI policies.