On April 14, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ruled, in relevant part, that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) cannot require federal grant recipients to certify that their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs do not violate applicable federal anti-discrimination law and prohibited the termination of the plaintiff’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional
False Claims Act Gives Broad Dismissal Authority to Government, District Judge Says
On April 2, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a whistleblower’s False Claims Act (FCA) action after the relator attempted to dismiss the government as a plaintiff-intervenor in the lawsuit.
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New False Claims Act Settlement Highlights Importance of Voluntary Self-Disclosures and Due Diligence
According to an April 1 Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, DRI Relays Inc. (DRI), a subsidiary of TE Connectivity Corporation (TEC) and manufacturer of electrical relays and sockets used on military platforms, agreed to pay $15.7 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA).
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HHS-OIG Year in Review 2024
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) provided useful insights to the healthcare industry regarding how it approaches various fraud and abuse issues in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. Continue Reading HHS-OIG Year in Review 2024
Government Contractors Face False Claims Act Liability for Cybersecurity Non-Compliance
Last week, the District Court for the Eastern District of California denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment of a False Claims Act (FCA) count against Aerojet Rocketdyne (Aerojet) for allegedly fraudulently inducing the government to enter into federal contracts when the company knew it was not compliant with cybersecurity requirements.
Continue Reading Government Contractors Face False Claims Act Liability for Cybersecurity Non-Compliance
DOJ’s “Fairyland Damages” Calculation Rejected in Prevailing Wage Rate False Claims Act Case
In a February 4, 2016, decision, United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C. Construction, LLC, the Sixth Circuit summarily rejected the government’s assertion that the measure of damages in a False Claims Act (FCA) suit involving a violation of prevailing wage rate requirements was the total amount paid for the work. The Sixth
Relators Beware – Sanctions Upheld for “Vexatious” False Claims Act Suit
Last month, the Sixth Circuit affirmed sanctions imposed by a district court against a relator and his counsel for bringing a frivolous False Claims Act (“FCA”) action. The ruling in United States ex rel. Jacobs v. Lambda Research, Inc., No. 14-3705, 2015 WL 1948247 (6th Cir. May 1, 2015) is a positive development for companies
Enforceability of Employee Releases on Qui Tam Actions
Employee severance packages and settlement agreements often include a broad waiver of any claims, known or an unknown, which an employee may have against the company. Although such broad pre-filing releases are highly recommended, companies doing business with the government should be cautioned that these waivers do not always protect against False Claims Act (FCA) litigation. A line of federal cases has established that these so-called “pre-filing releases” are sometimes unenforceable against suits filed by whistleblowers, or qui tam actions, for public policy reasons.
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The Growing Risks of Non-Compliance with Wage Rate Determinations
A Maryland-based construction company required to pay “prevailing wages” under a Federal government contract recently settled for $400,000 claims that it had violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by failing to properly supervise lower-level contractors in the payment of prevailing wages to their workers. The case serves as a reminder that government contractors who fail
Expansion of State False Claims Act
We recently authored an article examining the rise in states developing their own false claims act statutes and how this expansion is impacting government contractors. The article offers tips to government contractors on ways to mitigate the risk of state false claims actions.
The full article, “The Expanding Risk Of State FCA Actions,”