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Final Rule Requires Technical Interchange for IR&D Cost Allowability

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.14.16

On November 4, 2016, DoD issued a final rule requiring contractors performing IR&D projects initiated in FY2017 or later to engage in a technical interchange with DoD, and report the occurrence of this interchange, before the costs for such projects may be deemed allowable (a topic previously discussed here). Although the rule is stated to be intended to promote DoD awareness of IR&D projects and provide feedback to contractors, it is likely to impose an administrative burden on contractors and DoD alike and could have a chilling effect on IR&D investment, particularly because it is silent regarding the allowability of IR&D costs if DoD fails to engage.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....

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