Recently, a Maryland federal court allowed Executive Order 14398 and its contract clause, FAR 52.222-90, to move forward. The ruling gave employers something they have been waiting for: clearer boundaries for compliance. The court read the order’s ban on “racially discriminatory DEI activities” to cover intentional disparate treatment based on race or ethnicity, the same conduct federal law already prohibits.
This means that, under the court’s reading, training, research, and discussion about race fall outside the executive order's scope. But race-conscious eligibility rules, diverse slate requirements, demographic scorecards, and pay modifiers carry real risk. The Department of Justice’s recent False Claims Act settlements show that enforcement is already underway, with significant financial consequences.
Join SHRM and DCI Consulting Group for a practical look at what the ruling means for your organization. We will cover:
- How the court defined the line between expression about race and decisions made because of race
- Which practices drew scrutiny in recent False Claims Act settlements
- What FAR 52.222-90 requires, including records access, subcontractor reporting, and FCA exposure
- Why EEO obligations under Title VII still reach sex-based decisions, even though EO 14398 covers only race and ethnicity
- How documentation and proactive workforce analytics can show that decisions are merit-based
Attendees will leave knowing what red flags to look for in their own practices and steps to take to avoid FCA risk.
Meet the Presenters
-
Carolynn Johnson
Carolynn Johnson is President of SHRM Center for Inclusion & Diversity, a credible, research-based “source of truth” think tank and member community for inclusion and diversity.
Before joining SHRM, she served as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor of Fair360 (formerly DiversityInc), the leading workplace fairness management platform for content comparative benchmarks, and predictive workforce analytics. She led teams of data scientists to build advanced analytics, benchmarking tools, and predictive models measuring inclusion, diversity, and performance. Under her leadership, the Top 50 survey became a catalyst for thought leadership and revenue growth, and she launched the DiversityInc Top 50 Event series in 2009—widely known as the “Oscars of Diversity and Inclusion.”
Carolynn has testified twice as an expert witness before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. She was named a Distinguished Alumna of Rutgers University (2016) and, in 2022, received an AACSB honor for her research on intersectional workplace issues with a focus on gender—recognizing alumni who demonstrate leadership and societal impact. A CEO Action signatory since 2019, she worked alongside senior leaders at PwC and public-policy partners to help expand the coalition’s reach by engaging executive leaders across client organizations.
She completed an executive management fellowship at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and earned her MBA from Rutgers Business School. She also holds two MIT certifications in Artificial Intelligence in Business Strategy and Machine Learning and Data Systems. In 2023, she consulted with Wharton to design talent development coursework for undergraduate, MBA, and EMBA students. The creator of the Women of Color and Their Allies Leadership Program, Carolynn serves on national nonprofit boards including the Center for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) and is Co-director of the Relationships Across Differences Roundtable within Wharton’s McNulty Leadership Program. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
-
David Cohen
David Cohen is the founder and President of DCI Consulting Group, Inc. He provides consulting services to employers and management law firms on a wide range of human resource risk management strategies, particularly in the areas of EEO/affirmative action program development, systemic compensation statistical analyses, comprehensive human resources self-audits, and employee selection and test validation.
In addition, Mr. Cohen is the co-founder of The Institute for Workplace Equality, a national nonprofit employer association that trains and educates federal contractors in understanding and complying with their affirmative action and equal employment obligations.
Recognized as a national EEO and affirmative action compliance expert, Mr. Cohen speaks frequently before corporate leaders from Fortune 500 companies, and at regional and national ILG conferences and OFCCP events. In 2006, he co-authored a book entitled “Understanding Statistics: A Guide for I/O Psychologists and Human Resource Professionals,” which was published by Wadsworth.
Mr. Cohen has a M.S. degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Radford University and B.A. degree in Psychology from West Virginia University.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.