Privacy Perils Loom For DHS Contractors
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.07.05
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) mission demands prodigious information access and sharing, yet privacy concerns -- stoked at federal, state, and international levels -- have ignited a host of challenges to homeland security initiatives, sometimes delaying or even stopping anti-terrorism programs. In "Privacy vs. Information Sharing: The Gathering Storm Over Homeland Security and How Contractors Can Reduce Their Risks" published in the Federal Contracts Report on May 31, 2005 (http://www.crowell.com/pdf/FederalContracts_Privacy.pdf), Crowell & Moring partner David Bodenheimer discusses these privacy perils, their impact on homeland security initiatives, and some ways to reduce these privacy risks.
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
