Elizabeth Bieber, Austin Evers, and Jennifer Loeb are Partners at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. This post is based on a Freshfields memorandum by Ms. Bieber, Mr. Evers, Ms. Loeb, Young Park, and Ginger Hervey.
The landscape for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the United States has shifted dramatically in 2025. What was once viewed as a cornerstone of corporate social responsibility is now a flashpoint for legal scrutiny, political backlash, and reputational risk. At the center of this transformation is an increasingly empowered and incentivized figure: the whistleblower.
A New Enforcement Era
Countering DEI has become a top priority for the current administration in Washington. Executive orders issued in January 2025 explicitly target what the administration calls “illegal DEI,” though the term remains legally undefined. These orders direct federal agencies to investigate and dismantle DEI programs across sectors, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) leading the charge.
In a memo, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the launch of a “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative,” signaling DOJ’s intent to use the False Claims Act (FCA) to pursue federal contractors who “knowingly violate civil rights laws” through DEI programs. The FCA is a potent tool: it allows whistleblowers to file qui tam lawsuits on behalf of the government and receive a share of any recovery, which can be triple the amount of the alleged fraudulent claims.
This memo was a call to action. Federal agencies are not equipped to root out “illegal DEI” or “egregious practitioners” alone. Efforts to have agencies send certifications to companies were uncoordinated and non-standardized, and ultimately unlikely to root out the kinds of specific practices at companies that had sophisticated counsel. Federal agency budgets have been slashed and the brain drain in the federal government is real. Starting a new initiative takes resources: time, attention, and money to deploy a large-scale fishing campaign.