On February 26, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) calling for a sweeping review of government contracts over the next 30 days and directing that contracts be terminated or modified to reduce overall federal...more
2/28/2025
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Termination ,
Trump Administration
Among the many issues raised by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs is the prospect...more
2/7/2025
/ Contractors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA or Act) for Fiscal Year 2025 addresses recurring areas of focus relevant to defense contracting, including supply chain risks related to China, organizational...more
1/30/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Protests ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Rights ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Israel ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology
Whistleblowers filed 979 qui tam lawsuits under the False Claims Act (FCA) in Fiscal Year 2024—the highest number in a single year and 35% more than in the prior year—the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Overall,...more
1/23/2025
/ Compliance ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers
A recent Florida district court decision declared that the False Claims Act’s (FCA) qui tam provision violates the Constitution by vesting executive power in private whistleblowers (relators) that have not been appointed by...more
10/25/2024
/ Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Florida ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
Title II ,
Unconstitutional Condition ,
United States ex rel Polansky v Executive Health Resources Inc ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released Memorandum M-24-18, which directs how federal agencies will procure artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. M-24-18 and its accompanying fact sheet,...more
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released updated guidance for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by federal contractors on April 29, 2024—the latest indication that federal contractors’ use and...more
5/20/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
OFCCP ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it initiated a record-high 500 new False Claims Act (FCA) cases in Fiscal Year 2023. The government and whistleblowers (qui tam relators) were party to 543 settlements and...more
2/26/2024
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Investigations ,
Qui Tam ,
Settlement ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has issued its long-awaited proposed rule implementing its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program to protect sensitive, unclassified government information in the...more
The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes numerous provisions relevant to government contractors in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, supply chain concerns related to...more
12/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Protests ,
Cost-Shifting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
NDAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published two proposed rules on October 3, 2023, that would impose significant new cybersecurity obligations on government contractors, including requiring them to share...more
Clarifying a significant issue in government contracts litigation against the government, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held that the so-called “sum certain” requirement for Contract Disputes Act (CDA)...more
A defendant’s knowledge of and subjective beliefs about the meaning of legal requirements—not what an objectively reasonable person may have believed—are what matters when determining whether a defendant “knowingly” submitted...more
6/6/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Oral Argument ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Safeco ,
Safeco Insurance Co of America v Burr ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Thomas Proctor v Safeway Inc ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained more than $2.2 billion in civil False Claims Act (FCA) judgments and settlements in fiscal year (FY) 2022, the lowest such annual total since 2008 and a significant drop from a...more
2/10/2023
/ Business Litigation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Inflation relief for defense contractors, a ban on procurement of products and services containing certain Chinese semiconductors, and codification of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) governing...more
12/30/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
FedRAMP ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, announced last October, is designed to leverage existing whistleblower incentives for employees, or other persons with inside knowledge, to identify lapses...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $5.6 billion in civil False Claims Act (FCA) judgments and settlements in fiscal year (FY) 2021, the second largest ever annual total in FCA recoveries and the largest...more
2/3/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Healthcare ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and nontraditional approaches to procurement are once again areas of legislative focus for Congress in the recently passed Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),...more
12/23/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
NDAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Supply Chain
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative to pursue civil False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions against government contractors that knowingly fail to follow required cybersecurity...more
10/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Oversight
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 7, 2021, that a North Carolina engineering firm agreed to pay a $7 million fine and $1.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to engaging in bid rigging and fraud...more
6/14/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Best Practices ,
Bid Rigging ,
Biden Administration ,
Bids ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Procurement Guidelines
As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to increase funding for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for defense and national security purposes, a new policy memorandum directs the DoD to take steps to ensure that...more
On May 12, 2021, President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order (EO) to protect federal government networks and software supply chains against increasing threats of attacks from malicious cyber actors, setting the stage...more
5/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
DFARS ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Technology ,
Labeling ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
SaaS ,
Software ,
Supply Chain
As the government revives its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with hundreds of billions of dollars in additional loans available to small businesses, there are fresh signs that government fraud investigations and...more
2/8/2021
/ Borrowers ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Eligibility ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FIRREA ,
Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Risk Factors ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblowers
President Biden signed an executive order (EO) on January 25, 2021, outlining his administration’s policy to increase procurement of U.S.-made products by expansion of domestic preferences for American-made goods and...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
Notice and Comment ,
OMB ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Suppliers
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020. This is a drop of more than...more
1/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Devices ,
Qui Tam ,
Recovery Audit ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers