Accenture has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations by the U.S. government that the consulting firm considered race and sex in hiring and promotion decisions, adding to a series of corporate settlements tied to the Trump administration’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The settlement agreement, made public Monday and signed by the U.S. Department of Justice and Accenture, requires the IT consulting company to pay the United States $25 million, including civil penalties and interest calculated at 4% annually from Sept. 9, 2026.
The agreement resolves allegations that Accenture used race and sex as factors in employment decisions as it pursued demographic objectives. Accenture denied engaging in discrimination and said the settlement does not amount to an admission of liability.
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“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.
The settlement places Accenture among a growing group of major U.S. companies facing government scrutiny over workplace diversity policies since President Donald Trump returned to office and moved to dismantle DEI initiatives across the federal government and companies doing business with it.
The Trump administration has warned that DEI programs can undermine merit-based employment decisions and discriminate against white people and men. Trump has signed executive orders directing federal contractors and subcontractors to eliminate diversity-related practices.
Civil rights organizations, by contrast, believe that diversity programs can help address longstanding inequalities affecting women, ethnic minorities and LGBT people, and have criticized the administration’s actions as a rollback of social progress.
The policy shift has forced many U.S. companies to reconsider programs that had expanded significantly in recent years. Some have eliminated specific diversity targets, changed the language used in recruitment and promotion programs, or reduced the visibility of their DEI initiatives.
The financial consequences are also becoming more apparent as the Justice Department pursues companies over alleged violations.
Deloitte agreed in August to pay $21.5 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into its diversity practices. IBM agreed to pay $17 million in April to settle a similar government probe.
Accenture’s $25 million settlement is larger than both agreements, making it one of the more significant corporate financial resolutions connected to the administration’s crackdown on workplace diversity policies.
The cases also reveal the changing compliance environment for companies that have spent years developing programs designed to increase representation among underrepresented groups.
For employers, the major issue is the distinction between setting diversity objectives and using protected characteristics directly in employment decisions. The Justice Department’s allegations against Accenture focused on the latter, claiming that race and sex were taken into account in hiring and promotion decisions to achieve demographic goals.
Accenture’s response has emphasized that it complied with applicable laws and that the agreement was reached without admitting wrongdoing.
The settlement allows the company to close the dispute without the costs and uncertainty of prolonged litigation, while the government gains a financial resolution that reinforces its broader position on DEI policies.
The developments also signal that the administration’s approach extends beyond federal agencies and universities. Large professional-services firms such as Accenture and Deloitte employ hundreds of thousands of workers and frequently serve government clients, making their employment practices particularly relevant to federal contracting rules.
But the settlements could further accelerate, for corporate America, the retreat from formal diversity targets and employment programs that explicitly reference race or sex. Companies that previously viewed DEI primarily through the lens of recruitment, workplace culture and investor expectations now have to assess those initiatives against a federal policy environment that treats certain practices as potential discrimination.
While Accenture’s agreement does not establish that the company violated the law, and the firm expressly denied discrimination, the $25 million payment demonstrates the growing financial and legal exposure surrounding corporate diversity practices under the Trump administration.