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DoD Issues Final Rule on Allowability of Whistleblower Costs

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.28.14

On July 25, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule addressing the allowability of legal costs of a contractor or subcontractor related to whistleblower proceedings. The new rule amends FAR 31.205-47 to make such costs unallowable if the contractor is found liable for fraud or similar misconduct in the whistleblower proceeding, but also gives the same treatment of costs for settled whistleblower complaints as is currently provided for settlement of proceedings brought by a third party under the False Claims Act in which the United States does not intervene (i.e., costs may be allowable if there was very little likelihood that the whistleblower would have been successful).


Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.10.26

Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of Blue & Gold: Proposal Submission Deadline, Not Award, is the Operative Time for Filing

In Utech, Inc. v. United States, No. 24-1586 (Fed. Cir. June 24, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified that in most cases, a pre-award protest must be filed before the proposal submission deadline to avoid the Blue & Gold waiver rule.  This decision, while nonprecedential, is in line with U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) precedent, which has long held that pre-award protests must be filed before the proposal submission deadline....