The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) has settled a false claims act case with defense contractor Lockheed Martin, in which the company agreed to pay $29.5 million to settle claims that it discriminated against White workers through its efforts to promote diversity and equity in an internal bonus program. The government claimed that the company failed to comply with anti-discrimination requirements in its contracts with the federal government by operating a program that allegedly utilized race and sex considerations in relation to merit-based salary increases and promotion opportunities, which ultimately disfavored White employees.
Lockheed Martin agreed to pay $22 million to the U.S. government to resolve these claims that it failed to comply with anti-discrimination requirements in its federal contracts. Additionally, the company will pay $7.5 million to more than 1,000 allegedly affected employees as part of a settlement. As is normal with False Claims Act cases, the individual whistleblower who made the original complaint will be paid $4.4 million by the U.S. government for his part in bringing the claim to light.
