Lockheed to Pay $30M to Settle Trump Administration Claims Over DEI Practices

Lockheed Martin has agreed to pay nearly $30 million to settle claims by President Donald Trump’s administration that the defense contractor discriminated against white workers through its workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, according to two federal agencies. The settlements announced late Oct. 3 include $22 million to resolve claims that Lockheed falsely certified its compliance with anti-discrimination laws to receive federal contracts while favoring non-white workers in hiring, promotion and pay decisions. The company will also pay $7.5 million to more than 1,000 employees affected by its practices, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal laws banning workplace discrimination. Lockheed in a statement denied the allegations and said it agreed to the settlements to avoid prolonged litigation. “We did not admit liability, determining it would be best for all involved to put these matters behind us so we can remain focused on our critical national security mission,” the company said. The settlement is the latest in a string of similar deals the Department of Justice has reached with other major US companies including IBM, Accenture and consulting firm Deloitte as the Trump administration seeks to curb DEI in virtually all areas of American life including private employment, government, education and healthcare. The class of workers involved in the EEOC settlement is the largest to be publicly announced in a case by the agency involving DEI practices, the commission said on Wednesday. Federal law “protects every worker from employment discrimination on the basis of race — and that protection does not yield when discriminatory decisions are framed as diversity initiatives,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a Trump appointee, said in a statement. The agencies allege that Lockheed in 2021 launched an incentive program known as Compensation Adder that awarded the top 20% of employees in each business area with additional annual pay increases. Managers were initially told to use merit-based criteria, but Lockheed pressured some of them to reconsider their selections because of the demographics of the workers chosen, the Justice Department claimed. The agencies also alleged that Lockheed took race or sex into account when making hiring and promotion decisions in order to meet internal diversity goals and for training and mentoring opportunities. The Justice Department’s claims stemmed from a whistleblower lawsuit filed last year by a former vice president at Lockheed, Tim Booher, who will receive a $4.4 million payout, the department said. Booher is now an advisor to the Pentagon, according to his profile on the networking site LinkedIn. Topics Claims Politics