Lockheed Martin to pay $29.5 million settlement for discrimination against white workers

Lockheed Martin to pay $29.5 million settlement for discrimination against white workers The Department of Justice has previously reached comparable legal settlements with major corporate contractors, including IBM, Deloitte, and Accenture - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Lockheed Martin has agreed to a $29.5 million settlement with federal authorities over allegations from President Donald Trump's administration that its internal diversity and equity initiatives led to reverse discrimination against white workers. The defense contractor will hand over $22 million to the U.S. government to resolve claims that it breached anti-discrimination rules tied to its federal contracts, according to an announcement issued late Tuesday by the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. An additional $7.5 million will be paid to more than 1,000 affected employees under a separate agreement with the EEOC. The agency had been investigating Lockheed Martin over allegations that it violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race. In an official statement, Lockheed Martin rejected the government’s allegations but explained that it "agreed to resolve this matter with the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to avoid the distraction and expense of 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 defense contractor added. The outcome highlights the Trump administration's continued reliance on the 1863 False Claims Act to compel government contractors to abandon their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The Civil War-era statute imposes steep financial liabilities on contractors that submit fraudulent claims to federal authorities. Historically used to prosecute financial fraud, the administration has instead applied the law to companies it claims engage in racial discrimination under the guise of workplace inclusion. The Department of Justice has previously reached comparable legal settlements with major corporate contractors, including IBM, Deloitte, and Accenture. Civil rights organizations have strongly criticized the Trump administration's enforcement actions, maintaining that they attack long-standing mechanisms designed to prevent both intentional and unintentional bias against traditionally marginalized groups during hiring and promotion. A number of civil rights groups have launched legal challenges against the administration’s anti-DEI directives. The specific allegations against Lockheed Martin stem from an internal bonus initiative introduced in 2021 that offered salary increases and promotion opportunities to the company's top 20% of employees. Under the system, managers submitted nominations that were subsequently analyzed to "flag" demographic outliers based on race and sex. When nominations raised these flags, supervisors were requested to review their selections and the "merit-based basis for the selections, without asking them to take any protected characteristic into account." However, federal officials alleged that company staff actively "exerted pressure on leaders in their business group to resolve race-related ‘flags’ by directing them to add or remove particular employees based on race." Prosecutors maintained that management was pressured to exclude nonminority employees from consideration while adding racial minorities. The joint settlement follows a whistleblower action brought by former Lockheed Martin vice president Tim Booher, who will receive $4.4 million from the government under the False Claims Act. Booher resigned in May 2023, stating in an October 2025 court filing that he "felt that he could no longer be complicit in LMC’s illegal discrimination." Booher met with EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas in July 2024 to present his claims. Lucas, who was appointed EEOC chair after Trump took office in January 2025, launched a commissioner's charge that prompted the federal inquiry. Booher’s legal team issued a statement praising the "amicable conclusion that avoids prolonged litigation and ensures statutory compliance in federal contracting." Lucas, a prominent opponent of DEI initiatives, has repeatedly called on white male employees to file complaints with the EEOC and has initiated similar charges against corporate giants including Nike. "Title VII 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," Lucas said in a statement accompanying the settlement. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] LOCKHEEDMA LOCKHEEDMARTIN MH-60R