Justice Department, EEOC settle with Lockheed for $29.5 million
The Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday announced a two-part settlement with Lockheed Martin Corporation totaling about $29.5 million to resolve allegations of employment discrimination and related false certifications while serving as a federal contractor, according to the agencies.
The Justice Department said Lockheed will pay $22 million to the United States to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that, from 2019 to the present, the company falsely certified compliance with contract requirements to make employment decisions without regard to race or sex while engaging in discriminatory practices. The EEOC said Lockheed will also pay approximately $7.5 million to more than 1,000 affected employees to resolve a 2025 Commissioner’s Charge alleging race discrimination against white employees in performance assessments and compensation decisions. The agencies said the claims are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said, “Companies, especially those that do business with the federal government, should not make DEI compensation decisions that prioritize an employee’s race over the merit of their work.” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said, “Title VII requires employers to treat employees as individuals, ensuring that workplace opportunities, compensation, and rewards are not allocated based on race or sex.”
The United States alleged that Lockheed took race into account in compensation decisions through an incentive program called “Compensation Adder” or “Comp Adder,” which started in 2021 and gave the top 20% of employees in each business area an additional raise over the annual company-wide increase. The government alleged that before finalizing selections, Lockheed ran statistical analyses to flag outliers based on the race and sex makeup of the list, and some human resources personnel then pressured business leaders to add or remove employees based on race to clear those flags. The United States also alleged that Lockheed considered race or sex in hiring and promotion to meet internal workforce composition goals and offered certain training and development programs based on race or sex.
The Justice Department said the civil settlement also resolves claims in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Tim Booher, a former Lockheed vice president, who will receive $4,400,000. The EEOC said its agreement requires Lockheed to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Executive Order 14151 and to maintain a merit-based workplace where race and sex are not considered in hiring, pay, bonus, or promotion decisions. The EEOC may review the company’s compliance over the term of the agreement.
The Justice Department noted the resolution follows other recent settlements under the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, launched in May 2025. The department said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas participated, with investigative assistance from the Department of War, Office of Inspector General. The agencies said Lockheed cooperated in the resolution of these matters.