Gregory Rosen Discusses Deloitte DEI Settlement with Bloomberg Law

Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, P.C. shareholder Gregory P. Rosen was quoted in an Aug. 27 Bloomberg Law article examining Deloitte’s nearly $22 million settlement with the Department of Justice over claims that its diversity, equity and inclusion programs violated the False Claims Act.

The article reports that the settlement resolves allegations that Deloitte falsely certified compliance with federal contracting rules barring discrimination based on race or sex. In April, IBM reached a similar $17 million settlement with the government as part of the Trump administration’s broader push against corporate DEI programs.

Even though Deloitte chose to settle, Rosen said the company had “a real materiality argument on the pre-2025 conduct,” noting that before the 2025 executive order restricting DEI for federal contractors, no contract language treated compliance with equal opportunity clauses as material to payment decisions. Furthermore, the government continued paying invoices for years under rules that affirmatively required contractors to set demographic goals. He added that this defense would likely only address part of the government’s case, since the DOJ separately accused Deloitte of misallocating costs of the program.

Beyond the legal analysis, Rosen noted the settlement ultimately came down to practical business calculus. “At the end of the day, however, the money paid is a rounding error weighed against penalty exposure and other risks, like debarment. Paying it is a business decision, not necessarily a verdict on the legal theories.”

Rosen is a shareholder in RJO’s White-Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group and a former federal prosecutor who handles False Claims Act matters, government contracts fraud and complex financial and regulatory investigations.

The full Bloomberg Law article can be found here.