Relief for Remote ID: The FAA Extends Compliance Deadline for Drone Operators
Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.15.23
With days to spare, the FAA has officially extended the deadline for drone operators in the U.S. to comply with Remote ID equipage and transmission requirements by six (6) months, until March 16, 2024. The original compliance date of September 16, 2023 was seen as unattainable by many drone operators due to the FAA’s slow approval of manufacturer Declarations of Compliance and unavailability of software updates from manufacturers.
The FAA has made clear that this is the last extension that will be granted, and that operators who remain non-compliant by March 16, 2024 could be subject to enforcement action in the form of monetary fines and suspension or revocation of pilot certificates. Therefore, operators should continue to work diligently to comply, despite this extension.
Additional coverage on Remote ID for manufacturers and operators can be found here and here.
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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
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