http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/technology/palantir-faults-labor-depts-data-in-discrimination-suit.html 2016-10-14 22:40:26 Palantir Faults Labor Dept.’s Data in Discrimination Suit The Silicon Valley start-up says it hired its own experts, who found no bias at the company. === SAN FRANCISCO — Palantir, a large and secretive Silicon Valley start-up In a filing on Friday, the company said a government audit initiated in 2012 looked at 18 months of employment data, and found discrimination against Asians in three of 44 job titles. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs erred in weighing all résumés, including unsolicited applications from sites like Craigslist, as if they were from people with the relatively demanding skills required at a place like Palantir, the company argued. The filing also said that Palantir had hired outside experts who reviewed its practices and found no discrimination, and noted that several members of its senior leadership, as well as hiring managers, were themselves Asian. Palantir, based in Palo Alto, Calif., specializes in sophisticated pattern-finding software, and counted the federal government among its first customers. Originally specializing in matters like profiling terrorist organizations and tracing money laundering, the company has since built practices in areas like selling distressed mortgages and maximizing retail sales of candy. The Labor Department sued Palantir in late September after what both sides characterized as years of private negotiations to settle the case. The department asked that, should its suit succeed, the government cancel all its contracts with Palantir. That would be disastrous for the company. Palantir, privately valued at about $20 billion and counting numerous well-known investors, will most likely generate As a federal contractor, the company is obligated to have a place on its applications for people to indicate their race, which is most likely how the government determined the number of Asians applying for work at Palantir. Diversity and discrimination issues have dogged many Silicon Valley tech companies in recent years, though usually in cases involving gender, Latinos or African-Americans. In a series of disclosures over the last two years, companies like Google and Facebook have displayed work forces made up disproportionately of white males. A suit against Facebook last March