RFP Must State Whether Or Not Subcontractor Past Performance Will Be Considered
Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.16.06
In a shift away from the discretion it has typically afforded agencies in the evaluation of subcontractor past performance, the GAO in Singleton Enterprises, (Oct. 30, 2006 http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/ 298576.pdf), held that a latent ambiguity with respect to the evaluation of subcontractor past performance was created where an RFP stated merely that the past performance of the "offeror" would be considered, and that the protester's interpretation that the agency (GSA) would also evaluate subcontractor past performance was reasonable in light of the FAR provision that subcontractor performance "should" be evaluated. GAO held that GSA's categorical refusal to consider subcontractor past performance was improper without further guidance provided in the RFP and recommended that GSA amend its solicitation to clearly advise offerors of what past performance information the agency will consider.
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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
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
