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Monday, April 21, 2025

False Claims Act Insights – Can DE&I Initiatives Lead to Potential False Claims Act Liability? - Husch Blackwell

Podcast

Host Jonathan Porter welcomes to the show Michael Schrier, a Washington-based partner in Husch Blackwell’s Government Contracts practice, to discuss a recent executive order (EO) issued by President Donald Trump that could, if it survives legal scrutiny, introduce a new category of False Claims Act (FCA) liability to government contractors.

Jonathan and Michael kick off the discussion with a brief overview of the historical context surrounding President Trump’s EO, including the Lyndon Johnson-era EO that it seeks to displace. For decades, federal contractors and subcontractors had to affirmatively ensure that employment practices are non-discriminatory against any person based on race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, or religion. Through executive action, the Trump administration has revoked this framework and created new requirements, including a prohibition against enforcing affirmative action in government contracts and certifications from contractors and grant recipients that they do not operate DE&I programs that violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

As Jonathan and Michael discuss, the new EO is not without its legal challenges. On February 21, 2025, a federal judge issued a 63-page memorandum opinion and a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the federal government from enforcing some of the EO’s key provisions, offering temporary relief to contractors, grant recipients, and private employers who are concerned that they will be a target of...



Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi0wFBVV95cUxNQ3lPaGNyN1lMRjBqaDNrMGhj...