Boeing plea-deal rejection adds culture-war topic to turnaround

The surprise rejection of Boeing Co.’s proposed guilty plea to fraud charges stemming from two fatal 737 Max crashes has inserted a fiery culture issue into the proceedings after a judge opposed the consideration of race in the selection of a compliance monitor. In a decision opposing the proposed deal between Boeing and the Justice Department, US District Judge Reed O’Connor focused on the terms for appointing an independent monitor — particularly a requirement that the hiring follow the department’s diversity and inclusion criteria to ensure that members of minority groups get fair consideration. The Fort Worth, Texas judge said he couldn’t accept the proposed settlement because it would improperly require race to be factored into in the hiring of an independent monitor and that his role in making sure Boeing abides by the deal would be minimized. He asked both sides to confer and decide on the next steps, which could include revising the plea agreement. “These provisions are inappropriate and against the public interest,” O’Connor said in his ruling Thursday. A representative for Boeing didn’t comment on the ruling. Diversity, equity and inclusion considerations continue to face increased legal and political headwinds inspired by a US Supreme Court decision in June 2023, which outlawed the use of race as a factor in college admissions. Critics of DEI efforts maintained that such policies promote divisiveness and undermine merit-based decision-making. Boeing itself recently dismantled its global DEI department, making it the latest high-profile corporation to make changes to the policy. While Boeing’s workforce has traditionally skewed White and male, the company has stepped up its efforts to recruit more Black employees and people from other minority groups.<br/>