No PRB Cost Adjustment For Segment Closings
Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.02.10
In related decisions filed on April 29, the Court of Federal Claims effectively precluded contractors from recovering any costs for unfunded post-retirement benefits (primarily retiree medical and life insurance) in connection with business segment closings, absent a specific contract provision promising to indemnify the contractor for the unfunded liability. In Raytheon v. U.S., the court held that benefits covered by so-called 401(h) subaccounts in the contractor's pension plan (a relatively uncommon situation) are not "pension benefits" and, therefore, are not subject to the segment-closing provisions of CAS 413; in Gen. Elec. Co. v. U.S., the court held that pay-as-you-go benefit plans covering retired employees and dependents (by far the more common situation) are not subject to the provisions of CAS 413 requiring "segment closing" adjustments for pension costs.
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
