June 8 FAC Confirms FAR Changes
Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.09.05
FAC 2005-04, published on June 8, 2005 (70 Fed. Reg. 33654-33677), either adopts interim rules previously promulgated or makes relatively minor changes to existing rules concerning allowability of deferred compensation and post-retirement benefit costs, SDB and HUBZone evaluation preferences, Davis-Bacon Act application, telecommuting by federal contractors, incentives for performance-based contracting for services, and use of labor standards on construction contracts. The principal substantive changes in the FAC are the elimination of the commercial pricing exemption for noncommercial modifications to commercial items exceeding the greater of $500,000 or 5 percent of the total contract price (applicable only to contracts with DoD, NASA, or the Coast Guard) and complex changes to the rules concerning recognition of gains and losses and allowable rental costs in connection with sales and leaseback transactions that should be considered in planning such transactions.
Insights
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
