IBM class action claims co. hiring based on race, gender

IBM class action overview: 

• Who: A former IBM employee has filed a lawsuit against the company.
• Why: The plaintiff says he was discriminated against as a white man. 
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in a Michigan federal court.

A former IBM employee has slapped the company with a lawsuit alleging he was discriminated against as a white man, and unlawfully terminated.

Plaintiff Randall E. Dill filed the lawsuit against International Business Machines Corporation on Aug. 20 in a Michigan federal court, alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act. 

Dill claims he was unlawfully terminated because of his race and gender as a white male.

He alleges that IBM pressures corporate leaders to hire based on race and gender, financially incentivizing executives to meet diversity quotas. His lawsuit claims that this allegedly discriminatory practice led to his firing despite his “outstanding performance reviews.”

Fired after ‘high marks’

Dill joined IBM in 2016 as a senior managing consultant and worked on a long-term project with the U.S. Department of Defense, receiving high marks on IBM’s internal performance metric, he says. 

According to Dill, he consistently met or exceeded IBM’s performance standards, with client reviews rating him a 9/10 on multiple occasions. 

However, in July 2023, he says he was unexpectedly placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) and later terminated.

In his lawsuit, Dill argues that the PIP was merely a pretext to push him out, as IBM’s leadership had been financially motivated to promote diversity by hiring based on race and gender.

Plaintiff struggled to find a job after termination, lawsuit says

He claims the company’s policies, starting in 2021, rewarded executives for race- and gender-based hiring while penalizing those who failed to meet these quotas. Dill alleges that his race and gender made him a “double whammy” in the company’s effort to diversify its workforce.

Dill is suing for violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and is seeking damages for lost wages, emotional distress, and harm to his reputation. 

He says after he was fired, he struggled to find employment and eventually took a lower-paying job outside his field.

Meanwhile, employees have recently filed class action lawsuits against FedEx, Red Lobster, JPMorgan Chase and Subway alleging improper pay and failure to provide lawfully required meal and rest breaks. 

What do you think of the allegations in this IBM case? Let us know in the comments! 

Dill is represented by Reed D. Rubinstein, Andrew J. Block and Laura M. Stell of America First Legal Foundation and by Christopher S. Berry of Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge. 

The IBM employment case is Randall E. Dill v. International Business Machines Corp., Case No. 1:24-cv-00852, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

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