TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Deloitte has agreed to pay Florida $1.2 million to resolve allegations that the consulting and accounting giant used race- and sex-based employment practices while certifying compliance with anti-discrimination requirements in state contracts, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced.
The settlement centers on allegations that Deloitte considered race or sex in certain hiring, promotion and staffing decisions between approximately 2017 and early 2025 as part of efforts to meet internal workforce demographic goals.
“It is against the law for government contractors to reward or penalize employees based on race or sex, and discrimination under DEI is still discrimination,” Uthmeier said. “Merit drives opportunity in Florida, not someone’s race or sex.”
According to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, Deloitte business units received monthly reports tracking progress toward racial and gender workforce goals. The reports used a color-coded system showing whether individual units exceeded, met, slightly missed or significantly fell short of their targets.
Florida also alleged that Deloitte evaluated Partners, Principals and Managing Directors in part on their contributions toward meeting workforce composition goals. For roughly two years, the compensation of about 150 senior Deloitte leaders was allegedly affected when their business units failed to meet demographic targets.
The state further alleged that Deloitte established racial and gender goals for annual partner classes and restricted access to some training, mentoring, leadership development, educational opportunities and other programs based on employees’ race or sex.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the alleged practices took place while Deloitte was performing contracts with Florida and certifying that it provided equal employment opportunities without regard to race or sex.
“This settlement makes it clear that illegal discrimination will not be tolerated by companies doing business with our state,” Uthmeier said. “We will continue to root out unlawful DEI practices wherever they appear.”
The Florida agreement is part of a broader coordinated settlement involving federal and state authorities. Deloitte also agreed to pay $21.5 million to the U.S. Department of Justice and approximately $1.2 million to Indiana to resolve parallel allegations under the federal False Claims Act and related state laws.
The settlement resolves the allegations without the need for further litigation.
