The Justice Department has announced a settlement resolving an employment-discrimination matter involving a Texas memory-care facility and a National Guard medic, underscoring the federal government’s continued willingness to enforce workplace protections for servicemembers. Although the matter was resolved short of a contested court ruling, the settlement is a useful reminder that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) remains an active enforcement tool for the DOJ in the labor and civil-rights space.

At a high level, the case involved allegations that the facility discriminated against an employee because of military service obligations.

The Justice Department has announced that Deloitte and several affiliated entities agreed to pay $21.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with anti-discrimination obligations in federal contracts and by discriminating against employees and applicants. The settlement involves Deloitte LLP, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Deloitte Touche LLP, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, and Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP.

The case is significant not simply because of the dollar amount, but because it reflects the government’s continuing use of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. That initiative treats alleged workplace discrimination by federal contractors as more than a traditional employment-law problem.