GSA Will Insert FAR 52.223-99, Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors in Multiple Award or Federal Supply Schedule Contracts for Products and Services
Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.06.21
Following President Biden’s announcement of Executive Order 14042 (“EO”) on September 9, 2021, several agencies have issued guidance on the EO’s applicability to the contractor community, which we reported on here. Further to GSA’s September 30, 2021 Class Deviation CD-2021-13, on October 6, 2021, GSA reiterated that a mass modification program for all GSA Schedule Contracts would begin on or around October 8, 2021, and no later than October 15, 2021.
This mass modification applies to GSA Schedule Contracts, regardless of whether they are for products, services, or both. The Class Deviation notes that the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force’s guidance “strongly encourages agencies to incorporate the clause into contracts that are solely for products” and explains:
It is not administratively feasible to distinguish FSS contracts that are solely for products from FSS contracts that are primarily for products but also include ancillary-type services (e.g., installation, maintenance, training, ancillary services acquired via the Order-Level Materials SIN, etc.). Requiring the clause in all FSS contracts will simplify compliance tracking, vendor communication, and customer messaging efforts.
To that end, the GSA announcement states that:
The requirements in the Executive Order (EO) are being implemented across all government contracts via a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) deviation. The clause in the FAR deviation will be incorporated into GSA contracts via a bilateral modification.
Notably, GSA contractors are required to accept the bilateral modifications with FAR 52.223-99 included.
We are continuing to monitor developments in this area. Our team is available to help companies navigate the many issues raised by the EO.
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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.
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