Prohibition on Contracting with Corporations with Felony Conviction or Delinquent Taxes
Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.04.15
On December 4, 2015, the FAR Council issued an interim rule – with an effective date of February 26, 2016 – that would require a corporation responding to any federal solicitation to represent whether it (1) has a felony conviction for a violation under any federal law within the preceding 24 months or (2) has any unpaid federal tax liability that has been assessed and is not being appealed or paid in a timely manner. Consistent with the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriation Acts, any affirmative response made by a corporation to either representation would effectively create an automatic exclusion that precludes award of federal contracts, unless the agency's suspension and debarment official has reviewed the matter and determined that further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the government.
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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
