Successful Protest Leads To Award
Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.24.08
In ASRC Research & Tech. Solutions, Inc.(Aug. 21, 2008), GAO found that (1) NASA had unreasonably concluded that the proposed labor rates of the protester (represented by C&M) to capture incumbent personnel presented significant technical risk when NASA did not know whether the protester's rates, which were based on weighted average rates that accounted for the percentage of personnel assigned to each labor category, were any better reflection of the individual incumbent rates than the straight average labor rates relied on by NASA; and (2) NASA's past performance evaluation unreasonably failed to consider the substantial size difference between the awardee's past performance references and the contemplated contract. GAO left NASA with few options for its reevaluation of the technical proposals and specifically instructed NASA both to remove the "Significant Weakness" that had been improperly assigned to the protester and adjust its point scores and ratings accordingly, which led to a contract award to the protester.
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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
