The Supreme Court Has Spoken – The FCA and Scienter
“For scienter, it is enough if respondents believed that their claims were not accurate.” 1 - Justice Thomas On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on the ongoing False Claims Act (“FCA”) scienter issues (the “Opinion”) – i.e., does a company’s objective or subjective knowledge matter regarding whether its submissions to...
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The Biden Administration is Ending the Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
On May 1, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it will be ending the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for “Federal employees, Federal Contractors, and international air travelers.” This will likely bring an end to a months-long period of litigation and confusion for Federal Contractors. In September 2021, President Biden had issued Executive Order 14042 which...
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Non-Compete Agreements – To Ban or not to ban? That is the Question.
Recent Trends in Non-Compete Agreements Are non-compete agreements (colloquially referred to as “non-competes”) on their way out? Over the past year, more states are either prohibiting the enforce ability of non-competes or greatly restricting their use, hinting at a growing trend away from non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), which is always on the...
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The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act
The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In September 2022, Ward & Berry explained the possibility of the Supreme Court taking on a second FCA case¹ this term, and why we should care about it. Short answer: The “knowledge” aspect of the FCA is under heavy debate and any resolution...
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Two more strikes and your EEO-1 Type 2 data may be out!
Last chance for Federal Contractors to object to the release of their EEO-1 Reports by OFCCP in response to the Center of Investigative Reporting’s FOIA request. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (“OFCCP”) is giving federal contractors two last chances to respond to its August 19, 2022 Federal Register Notice calling for objections...
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Supreme Court Dismissal of In re Grand Jury What This Means for (Potentially) Privileged Communications Going Forward
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” – Justice Kagan The Supreme Court decided to dismiss In re Grand Jury as “improvidently granted” in its January 23, 2023 Order after hearing oral argument on the case earlier this month. In other words, after agreeing to hear the case, and instead of establishing clear law...
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