International firms Dentons, DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells are among practices warned over 'potentially anticompetitive collusion' in the US government's latest move against so-called DEI-based employment practices. They are among 42 firms which are on record as taking part in the Mansfield Certification programme, commercial initiative to collect and monitor data on progress towards opening up job opportunities to people from more diverse backgrounds.

In a letter to the firms, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Andrew N. Ferguson, said that agreements on DEI metrics 'can distort competition for labor in legal professions, including along dimensions like hiring decisions, pay, and promotions'.

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The organisation behind Mansfield Certification, Diversity Lab, said the scheme does not promote quotas or discriminatory hiring practices and is fully aligned with anti-discrimination laws. Members are required to track recruitment for a dozen senior roles over a year and assess whether 'a broader pool of qualified talent – including at least 30% qualified underrepresented talent' had been considered. 'Mansfield doesn’t dictate or require that underrepresented talent be “slated” or selected for any given leadership role or activity, nor does it result in any person being excluded from consideration based on race, gender, or any other demographics.'

According to the FTC, member firms in the US employ more than 50,000 attorneys. Public information suggests that participating fims 'meet regularly with Diversity Lab and their competitor law firms to discuss common implementation of Diversity Lab’s criteria', the competition watchdog said. 'The letter reminds law firms that collusion in hiring practices, including through competitors coordinating on the personal characteristics of their candidate pools and sharing sensitive information about pay and benefits, can violate the antitrust laws.'

The FTC letter follows action by the federal US Equal Opportunity Commission, which last year wrote to 20 firms requesting information about equality practices.