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Sequestration: New Agency Letters Warn Industry

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.06.13

Federal agencies, including DoD and DHS, began issuing letters to industry this week warning that the effects of sequestration, imposed on March 1, may be felt on existing and planned procurements, may affect agencies' ability to administer contracts efficiently, and in the words of DHS, may result in "existing contracts being reduced in scope, terminated or partially terminated." While asking for industry's cooperation in this time of "enormous budgetary uncertainty" and stating that decisions with respect to specific contracts will be communicated directly by the responsible contracting officials, DoD advised that "damage to the Department and to industry is unfortunately unavoidable at this point."


Insights

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....