As predicted, whistleblower cases are becoming one key way in which federal contract cyber requirements will be enforced. SAIC recently learned that the hard way when an employee, who allegedly tried to notify the company of his concerns was, instead, fired. Unsurprisingly, he immediately turned around and filed a whistleblower suit against the company for its alleged indifference to cyber compliance matters. Among the whistleblower’s complaints is that the company did nothing to address vulnerabilities in an IT solution being delivered to the Air Force in Germany. In addition, the now former employee claims that SAIC was using incorrect metrics to report material information about cybersecurity-risk management to stockholders and the Read more
Three critical GSA Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts are all at different stages of development, though communication on just one of them is reasonably clear and consistent. The OASIS+ team routinely updates its Interact page, including three times in May alone. This is in keeping with the extensive industry outreach OASIS+ officials did prior to the issuance of the RFP. All offers are now under consideration for that new vehicle. In the meantime, Interact updates for POLARIS and Alliant3 have been less frequent and their next Read more
Federal contractors and their customers are right to focus on cybersecurity issues. Ensuring secure supply chains, safeguarding information systems, and protecting personal information are all important to the efficient conduct of government business. In the meantime, however, industry can’t ignore the steady rollout of new acquisition rules all aimed at ensuring that government acquisition does at least its part to clean up the environment. The most recent Multiple Award Schedule update is a case in point. The new refresh, which came out in late May, has a dozen new contract clauses that companies must abide by. These include issues that transcend product acquisition and impact all Schedule contractors. Sustainable procurement, waste reduction, and pollution prevention are just some of the areas covered by Read more
The most recent Department of Justice False Claims Act report has several takeaways for government contractors, including at least one surprise. It always pays to know what’s happening in the compliance realm and, as a public service, we are happy to provide this overview.
1. DOJ Doesn’t Have to Intervene in an FCA Case For It To Be Successful: Contractors may previously have regarded it as a positive sign that DOJ didn’t intervene in a whistleblower case. If the government wasn’t interested, there must not be too much to it. That was true until 2023 when 16% of non-intervened cases resulted in recoveries. Whether or not DOJ participates, companies need to ensure a robust defense in such situations.
2. DOJ Filed A Record 500 FCA Cases On Its Own in 2023: Not all FCA cases are started by whistleblowers. DOJ filed the highest number of non-whistleblower FCA cases since 1987 in 2023. This should come as no surprise since the agency announced its Procurement Collusion Strike Force just a few years ago. While many of these are in the healthcare arena, no government contractor should have a false sense of security. There is plenty of action in other areas.
3. DOD Acquisition Is a Particular Focus: DOJ obtained a total of $550 million in FCA settlement recoveries in cases involving DOD contractors last year. That’s the highest amount DOJ has secured in over 10 years. Cybersecurity is becoming an area of special focus. In addition, as DOD spending increases, contractors can expect a continued focus from DOJ on making sure that money is spent correctly.
The DOJ’s report gives contractors important insights on where the agency is headed in terms of ensuring compliance. Think of it as a roadmap to help you stay on the right path.
No, the Beach Boys aren’t staging a comeback, at least not as far as we know. Congress, however, is giving itself a substantial amount of time off this summer, a move that could push off final work on appropriations measures and the FY25 Defense Authorization Act. The House will be in session for only about 21 days between now and Labor Day, with over half of that time coming in June. The Senate will be in session for a similar number of days, but not necessarily the same days as the House. July brings both the 4th of July recess and, this year, the Republican National Convention. Congress is also traditionally out of session in August, which will include the Democratic convention this year. While contractors should expect to see a flurry of activity on spending bills in June, anything that doesn’t get finalized may have to wait until September, or later. This is a two-edged sword for contractors. On one hand, they will be Read more