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Third Time’s Not a Charm; Disparate Compensation Evaluation Leaves Navy Stranded

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.07.17

On November 20, 2017, the Government Accountability Office released its decision in Fluor Federal Solutions, LLC, B-410486.9, sustaining a protest challenging the Navy’s third award decision for an 8-year contract to provide base operations support services on the island of Guam. Following a sustained protest challenging the Navy’s discussions and proposal evaluations (CFS-KBR Marianas Support Services, LLC; Flour Federal Solutions LLC, B-410486, et al., Jan. 2, 2015 (Round 1)), and an outcome prediction ADR in which GAO advised that it would sustain the protester’s second protest challenging the Navy’s evaluation of the awardee’s exempt employee compensation plan (Round 2), the Navy again selected the same awardee. In this protest (Round 3), GAO found that the Navy engaged in disparate treatment when it downgraded the protester for proposing reduced compensation of exempt employees while overlooking similar risk in the awardee’s proposed plan, which involved replacing exempt employees with new hires at reduced compensation through multiple hiring cycles.

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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....

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