On May 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative), which will use the federal False Claims Act (FCA) to pursue claims against recipients...more
5/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud ,
Government Agencies ,
Investigations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
One of President Trump’s campaign themes was ending diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programs, and he moved quickly to address those campaign promises. Within days of his inauguration, the president issued two executive...more
Through a duo of Executive Orders (EOs), issued on April 15 and 16 respectively, President Trump announced “a first-of-its-kind overhaul of Federal procurement policy.” The rewrite represents a once-in-a-generation...more
On January 24, the SBA announced updated small business contracting goals for fiscal year 2025, significantly decreasing some goals and standardizing targets across federal agencies. These changes bring the small business...more
On March 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, terminating a Maryland district court’s injunction of certain elements of President Trump’s January 20...more
3/18/2025
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Injunctions ,
Trump Administration
Following U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) lead, which we wrote about here, on March 4, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Class Deviation—Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity in Federal Contracts—directing DoD...more
As the Trump administration continues to eliminate federal positions and reduce contract and grant outlays, many private companies will likely be eyeing current and former government employees for employment over the coming...more
3/6/2025
/ Compliance ,
DFARS ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration
On March 3 Judge Abelson of the U.S. District Court for the District or Maryland denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal of the preliminary injunction halting the termination of equity-related federal grants...more
Over the first month of the new administration, President Trump has directed the review or termination of certain types of contracts and grants, including equity-related agreements, awards under the Inflation Reduction Act...more
3/3/2025
/ Compliance ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Government Agencies ,
Grants ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
USAID
On January 21, in MVL, Inc., et al. v. United States, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) struck down a 2022 Executive Order (EO), as well as the implementing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), signed by then-President...more
2/12/2025
/ Bid Protests ,
Biden Administration ,
CICA ,
COFC ,
Competition ,
Construction Industry ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
As we reported previously, President Trump’s January 21 Executive Order (EO) 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” terminated certain affirmative action requirements applicable to...more
2/10/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Attorney General ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Trump Administration
In addition to the Trump administration’s general freeze on most grant funding, which was rescinded as well as enjoined by federal district courts in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., the new administration yesterday took...more
After an immediate, severe backlash against OMB’s January 27 memo ordering a freeze on almost all federal financial assistance, as well as legal action that led to a January 28 temporary restraining order issued by the D.C....more
The first seven days of the Trump administration have brought new meaning to the saying that the only constant in government contracting is change. Multiple executive actions promise to be just the start of what is expected...more
To protect the U.S. industrial base, among other reasons, companies that sell goods to the U.S. government are required to comply with domestic source restrictions that dictate the percentage of domestic content and have the...more
2/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Made in the USA ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On March 18, President Trump issued an Executive Order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA), a tool that may help the administration combat the COVID-19 pandemic. With companies like 3M, GE, and others voluntarily...more
This Post at a Glance -
- Company made false statements related to import duty charges
- Investigation initiated by whistleblower complaint from company’s competitor
- Trump Administration likely to impose...more
2/21/2018
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
China ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Customs ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Furniture Industry ,
Government Investigations ,
Imports ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tariff Classifications ,
Trump Administration ,
Underpayment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
On April 18, 2017, Donald Trump signed a Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American (EO). As we reported at the time, Section 3 of the EO directed the heads of all federal agencies to, among other things:...more
On April 18, President Trump signed the “Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American” (the Order), which declares the Executive branch’s policy to buy American goods and rigorously enforce and administer...more
4/24/2017
/ Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Reform ,
Trade Agreements Act ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR ,
WTO
As we previously reported, Congress has taken its final steps in repealing Obama’s Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces rule, one of the most controversial rules enacted by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council under...more
3/28/2017
/ Blacklist ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Obama Administration ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
As we previously reported, following the start of the Trump Administration, Congress has moved aggressively to overturn regulations passed in the final days of the Obama Administration through the rarely-used powers in the...more
3/7/2017
/ Blacklist ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Obama Administration ,
Subcontractors ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
On February 2 the House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 37, which would nullify the Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces rule issued on August 25, 2016. If the identical pending joint resolution is passed by the...more
2/6/2017
/ Congressional Intent ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Deregulation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Obama Administration ,
Paycheck Transparency ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Disclosure ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration
For companies frustrated with the increasingly complex and burdensome compliance obligations imposed on government contractors, the elimination of some or all of the burdensome rules, which are both expensive and distinct...more