DoD Implements Franken Amendment For Non-Commercial Contracts
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.04.10
On February 17, DOD issued a class deviation implementing the prohibitions of the "Franken Amendment" to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act restricting the use of arbitration clauses in employment contracts and will consider comments received within two weeks of publication date in the formulation of an interim rule incorporating the clause into the DFARS (http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/policy/policyvault/USA000476-10-DPAP.pdf). Under the new DFARS clause, 252.222-7999, which is only applicable to new non-commercial contracts or orders in excess of $1 million that utilize funds appropriated by the FY10 Act, contractors agree (1) not to enter into any agreement with any of its employees that require, as a condition of employment, that the employee agree to resolve through arbitration certain types of employment disputes; (2) not to enforce such clauses in existing contracts; and (3) for contracts awarded after June 17, 2010, to require covered subcontractors to comply with these requirements.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
