Proposed FAR Rule Targets Restrictive Confidentiality Agreements
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.27.16
On January 22, 2016, the FAR Council proposed a new rule implementing section 743 of the 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, which prohibits federal dollars from going to companies that require employees to sign restrictive confidentiality agreements that could limit the ability of employees to report suspected fraud and abuse to the government. As described in a post, the proposed rule comes at a time of increased scrutiny from government agencies on the use of confidentiality agreements, and several agencies have issued class deviations in order to implement the requirements of the 2015 act pending the issuance of the final FAR rule.
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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
