There is a growing sense of confusion and unease among many federal contractors and grant recipients in these early days of the second Trump administration. In a time when some agencies face dislocation and downsizing (or, as...more
5/28/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Trump Administration ,
USAID ,
Whistleblowers
Amid the chaos of the past few weeks—sweeping executive orders, relentless cost-cutting, and an air of uncertainty that lingers like smoke after a fire—federal contractors have been left reeling, straining to hear what comes...more
Parties litigating False Claims Act (FCA) cases have long struggled with a thorny question around the essential element of scienter (the defendant’s intent, or state of mind): What/how much does a contractor need to know when...more
6/9/2023
/ Contractors ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Invoices ,
Medicare ,
Personal Knowledge ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
Most experienced contractors have a healthy fear of the various types of fraud claims: False Claims Act, federal and state wire and mail fraud, common law fraud, etc. They know that enforcement authorities are always looking...more
5/22/2023
/ Bid Solicitation ,
Ciminelli v US ,
Collusion ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Mail Fraud ,
Management Fees ,
Price-Fixing ,
Right to Control ,
SCOTUS ,
Wire Fraud
One of the most dynamic areas of the law that is of keen concern to federal contractors is the issue of employee noncompetition agreements (NCAs). Historically, NCAs were a common and valuable tool employers used to protect...more
Scenario 1: A pharmacy chain hires a value consultant to review its Medicare and Medicaid billing practices for ways to optimize the coding of drug reimbursements to maximize profits. Drugs that had historically been charged...more
2/3/2023
/ Billing ,
CFOs ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Reimbursements ,
SCOTUS
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF, or Strike Force) celebrates its third anniversary this month. Formed in November 2019 as an interagency partnership consisting of DOJ’s antitrust...more
On January 14, 2021, the Department of Justice released its updated statistics for False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in FY 2020. The Civil Division reported that it recovered $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments in the...more
When Abraham Lincoln signed the False Claims Act (FCA) into law in 1863, it was a legislative reaction to a series of sensational congressional investigations into war profiteers’ sale of phony provisions and useless...more
On April 8, 2020, a final rule (the Rule) was issued amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and implementing Section 852 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2019 to provide...more
One of the bedrock principles of federal contracting is the demand for “full and open competition through the use of competitive procedures.” In order to foster competition and reduce costs, the Competition in Contracting...more
On August 6, 2014, plaintiff-relator Andrew Scollick filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against eighteen defendants for multiple violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in...more
Section 8(a) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 authorizes the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to enter into prime contracts with federal agencies and to subcontract the performance of the contract to...more