Consulting's Trump-era DEI bill hits $63 million as Accenture joins Deloitte and IBM in settling discrimination claims

Accenture is the latest consulting firm to settle with the Department of Justice over DEI discrimination claims.

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images Accenture agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations related to Trump's DEI policies.

The DOJ said Accenture discriminated on the basis of race and sex in hiring and promotion practices.

IBM and Deloitte paid similar settlement fees in 2026, bringing the three firms' bill to $63.5 million.

Accenture is the latest company to pay up for President Donald Trump's DEI policies.

The technology and consulting firm agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it failed to comply with antidiscrimination requirements in federal contracts, the Department of Justice announced on Monday.

The agency accused Accenture of discriminating against employees and applicants by taking race or sex into account when making hiring and promotion decisions between 2017 and 2026.

Allegations included that Accenture gave candidates for promotion to managing director "extra visibility" if they advanced race or sex demographics, and that business unit leaders within Accenture Federal Services received monthly summaries of the specific percentages of each race and sex within their units to inform hiring decisions.

An Accenture spokesperson told Business Insider that the company complies with applicable laws and that the resolution did not constitute an admission of liability.

"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," the spokesperson said.

Accenture is the third major consultancy to reach a million-dollar settlement this year, under a process that Attorney General Todd Blanche launched in May 2025, termed the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative.

In April, IBM agreed to pay the United States $17 million to settle similar allegations of employment discrimination, and in August, Deloitte paid out $21.5 million .

Altogether, the three firms have paid out $63.5 million.

All three were accused of similar DEI practices while contracting with the federal government, violating the False Claims Act.