Lockheed Martin to Pay $29.5 Million to Settle Federal Allegations of Discrimination Against White Workers

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has agreed to pay approximately $29.5 million to resolve employment discrimination allegations brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The government alleged that the company considered employees’ race or sex in certain compensation, hiring and promotion decisions, violating requirements that apply to federal contractors. Lockheed denied wrongdoing and said it agreed to settle to avoid the cost and distraction of prolonged litigation. The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability.

The total payment is divided into two parts. Lockheed will pay $22 million to the U.S. government to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act, and about $7.5 million will go to more than 1,000 employees under a separate EEOC agreement. Former Lockheed vice president Tim Booher, whose whistleblower complaint helped prompt the case, will receive $4.4 million.

The Justice Department alleges race affected bonus selections

The Justice Department said Lockheed operated a compensation program called “Compensation Adder” beginning in 2021. It awarded additional pay increases to the top 20% of employees in each business area. Before the selections were finalized, the company allegedly analyzed the racial and gender composition of the lists and flagged statistical outliers.

The government alleged that some human-resources personnel pressured business leaders to change their selections by removing certain non-minority employees and adding minority employees who had not initially been nominated. The department also alleged that Lockheed used non-public race and sex goals in hiring, promotions and management incentive metrics, and offered certain mentoring and leadership-development opportunities based on race or sex.

These are government allegations resolved through the settlement, not findings made after a trial. The agreement does not mean a court determined that Lockheed violated the law.

The $22 million and $7.5 million payments resolve separate matters

The $22 million payment to the federal government resolves allegations under the False Claims Act. The Justice Department argued that Lockheed, as a federal contractor, had certified that its employment practices complied with anti-discrimination requirements. The government alleged that some practices dating back to 2019 were inconsistent with those certifications.

The separate $7.5 million EEOC agreement resolves a 2025 Commissioner’s Charge filed by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. It alleged that white employees were discriminated against in performance assessments, bonuses and other compensation decisions. The EEOC said the payment will provide monetary relief to more than 1,000 Lockheed employees. It described the case as the largest publicly disclosed employee recovery in an EEOC settlement involving alleged Title VII violations related to a DEI program.

A former vice president brought the whistleblower case

The case originated with a complaint by Tim Booher, a former Lockheed vice president. In his lawsuit, Booher alleged that human-resources personnel instructed him to change an additional-pay list by removing some white employees and replacing them with minority employees. He said he faced warnings from management after refusing to make the changes.

Booher left the company in 2023 and later filed a case under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions. The law allows private individuals to bring claims on behalf of the federal government and receive a portion of the recovery. Under the settlement, Booher will receive $4.4 million.

The Justice Department said the agreement is part of its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, launched in 2025 to pursue federal contractors accused of violating civil-rights requirements in government contracts.

The settlement does not establish that Lockheed broke the law

Lockheed said the programs at issue had already ended and that it chose to settle to avoid the expense and distraction of litigation. The Justice Department and EEOC both stated that the claims resolved by the agreement are allegations and that there has been no determination of liability.

The settlement requires Lockheed to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and related executive requirements, maintaining a merit-based workplace in which race and sex are not considered in hiring, compensation, bonuses or promotions. The EEOC may review the company’s compliance during the term of the agreement.

The case is another example of the Trump administration’s broader effort to challenge corporate DEI programs, particularly at federal contractors. The legal significance will depend on the agreement’s terms and how the company complies with the requirements going forward.