Can Employee Releases Bar False Claims Act Actions?

Government contractors should take notice that recent court decisions indicate a possible shift in the law that may foretell greater success in using releases to bar False Claims Act qui tam actions by former employees. In their article “Employee Releases: A Tool Federal Contractors Can Use To Protect Themselves Against False Claims Act Liability” published in the February 21, 2006, BNA Federal Contracts Report (http://www.crowell.com/pdf/newsroom/FCR_Kunz-Goodman.pdf), Cathy Kunz and Jody Goodman of C&M discuss the jurisprudence that releases cannot be used to prevent former employees from bringing FCA actions against employers and analyze two recent decisions that diverge from this precedent and open the door for the enforcement of employee releases to bar qui tam actions.