Microsoft being investigated by Labor Department for racial discrimination

We wrote earlier that tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google have all been declared monopolies in their respective areas of dominance, but it turns out Microsoft has not escaped regulatory scrutiny completely.

The company is currently being probed by the Labor Department over concerns regarding racial discrimination.

The reason is not what you might expect, however, as the Labor Department is concerned about Microsoft’s goal of increasing Black representation in the company.

Microsoft said it was contacted by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regarding the company’s recent commitment to increase Black representation in its workforce, including by seeking to double the number of Black people Microsoft employs in leadership positions by 2025. The Labor Department’s letter suggested that the commitment could violate the Civil Rights Act.

The news comes in the wake of the Trump administration trying to use an executive order to block government contractors from offering certain types of diversity training.

Microsoft has defended its approach.

“We have every confidence that Microsoft’s diversity initiative complies fully with all U.S. employment laws,” Microsoft general counsel Dev Stahlkopf said in the blog post. “We look forward to providing the [Labor Department] with this information and, if necessary, defending our approach.”

Read Microsoft’s full response here.

via Axios