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Agency's Stafford Act Interpretation Rejected

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.12.07

In Executive Protective Security Service, Inc. (Oct. 22, 2007, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/2999543.pdf), GAO sustained the protest on the basis that FEMA had improperly interpreted the “doing business primarily” eligibility requirement of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. GAO determined that the act’s plain language and legislative history required that a firm must conduct a majority of its business in the designated disaster area to be considered for a Stafford Act award.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded....