New Zealand Companies Out of the 'Chillybin'
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.19.15
On August 12, the U.S. in a Federal Register notice confirmed that it "has agreed to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements for eligible products and suppliers of New Zealand beginning on August 12, 2015," due to the WTO's approval of New Zealand as a member of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Joining the 43-member GPA will provide new access to the U.S. federal marketplace for New Zealand-based companies, including "designated country" status under the Trade Agreements Act, and will open immediate doors to federal government contracting opportunities, including GSA and VA Schedule contracts, that generally limit acquisition to end products that are manufactured or substantially transformed in the U.S. or a "designated country."
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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
