It’s Time for a Raise! DoD Proposes to Increase CPSR Threshold
Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.11.19
On May 31, 2019, DoD issued a proposed rule, which would amend the Defense Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to establish a DoD-specific Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) threshold of $50M at DFARS 244.302, to be used in lieu of $25M threshold at FAR 44.302(a), which has remained unchanged since 1996. According to the Federal Register, it is estimated that, with this new threshold in place, DCMA ACOs can reduce the number of contractor reviews by approximately 20% (from around 667 to 534), which would reduce the burden on smaller contractors and allow a more efficient and effective use of CPSR resources to review larger contractors where more taxpayer dollars are at risk. Comments on the rule are due by July 30, 2019.
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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
