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OGE Issues Final Rule On Post-Employment Conflict Of Interest Restrictions

Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.01.08

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a 42-page final rule (http://www.crowell.com/PDF/Federal-Register_06-25-08.pdf) providing guidance, including examples, on various post-employment restrictions under section 207 of title 18, including the permanent, one-year, and two-year representational bans applicable to former government employees and, relatedly, the companies that hire them. Because some of the key terms in title 207 are also used in other conflict of interest statutes and regulations -- e.g., the procurement integrity compensation ban in title 41 and FAR 3.104, as well as the conflict of interest restriction governing employment discussions between government personnel and the private sector under section 208 -- the OGE rule has broad applicability and relevance.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded....