On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Deputy Attorney General issued a memorandum (the “Memo”) announcing a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (the “Initiative”) and instructing the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to pursue False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement against “any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.” The Memo, among other things, includes the following:

• Establishes an internal DOJ team that will coordinate with other federal and state agencies “to aggressively pursue” FCA enforcement actions against federal contractors, federal grantees, and federally funded universities who falsely “certify compliance with civil rights laws” under Executive Order 14173 (“EO 14173”);
• Indicates that DOJ intends to pursue FCA enforcement against federal fund recipients who have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs that provide racial preferences or against universities that allow antisemitism or support transgender policies on campus; and
• Encourages private individuals to pursue FCA qui tam whistleblower suits and report suspected violations of civil rights laws by federal fund recipients.

DOJ’s new Initiative and stated plan to “aggressively” pursue FCA enforcement reinforces the need for federal contractors and federal fund recipients to review their DEI and compliance programs in light of recent executive orders and related administration guidance and consider taking the action steps discussed below.

Background

As we previously reported...

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