BUSINESS-ECONOMY
A federal judge has ordered Boeing and the US Justice Department to explain how diversity and inclusion policies play a role in choosing an independent monitor before he decides whether to accept the planemaker's plea deal. US District Judge Reed O'Connor is considering whether to approve Boeing's agreement to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud regulators. A resolution would entail three years under the supervision of an independent monitor. The order represents the latest in a series of challenges Boeing must overcome to avoid the public spectacle of a trial and plead guilty to charges of deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration and violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. O'Connor on Tuesday directed the DOJ and Boeing to file their responses by Oct. 25 on the DOJ policy of selecting a monitor in keeping with the commitment of the US government to diversity and inclusion. A DOJ spokesperson said the government "will comply with the judge’s order and respond before the court’s deadline." Boeing did not immediately comment. He also pointed out that this was not a contentious term in the plea agreement when instructing DOJ and Boeing to answer a set of questions pertaining to the diversity and inclusion policy, as well as the impact of this policy on the selection of the independent monitor. "Critically, Boeing did not voice any objection to this provision," the judge said in his order. O'Connor also asked the planemaker to detail how its current diversity, equity, and inclusion policies "are used in its current compliance and ethics efforts." Under the plea deal, the planemaker will pay up to a $487.2 million penalty and invest at least $455 million in improving safety and compliance practices over three years of court-supervised probation. O'Connor Friday pressed the Justice Department to justify the terms of Boeing's agreement to plead guilty to fraud in the wake of the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 that killed 346 people. Lawyers for Boeing and the DOJ argued the judge should approve the plea deal, whereas lawyers for relatives of the crash victims urged him to reject it. Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to conspiring to deceive regulators. This article includes reporting from Reuters. None
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