IBM just settled a major anti-DEI case for $17 million

In 2025—not long after Trump fired off executive orders that targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the workplace—the Justice Department announced the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. Its purpose was to investigate companies and academic institutions that accepted money from the government, by invoking a federal law called the False Claims Act. This past week, IBM agreed to pay $17 million over claims that its DEI programs allegedly violated the law—the first instance of an em...