Section 809 Panel Releases Volume 3 Report and Recommendations
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.16.19
On January 15, the Section 809 Panel released the final installment of its three-volume report, this time including recommendations on, among other topics, bid protests, contractor accounting systems, and government-industry interactions. (The panel released Volume 1 in January 2018 and Volume 2 in June 2018).
The Volume 3 recommendations, if implemented, could have far-reaching effects. For example, the panel recommends eliminating certain bid protests, such as second bite at the apple Court of Federal Claims protests after earlier GAO protests; adopting a “professional practice guide” for DoD and those supporting DoD in its contract audits; and encouraging greater government “interaction with industry during market research.”
Keep an eye on our blog and podcasts in the coming weeks, as we will be providing further detailed analysis of the panel’s various recommendations.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 06.12.26
DOJ Guidance Backs Away From Disparate Impact Liability
On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal opinion concluding that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) existing interpretations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) disparate-impact liability, including the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), are unconstitutional. According to the opinion, EEOC’s prior interpretations contemplate liability based on disproportionately adverse effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, rather than treating disparate impact as an evidentiary mechanism to “smoke out” intentional discrimination. DOJ found that this approach functions as a “qualified racial-proportionality mandate” that places “a racial thumb on the scales, often requiring employers to evaluate the racial outcomes of their policies, and to make decisions based on (because of) those racial outcomes.” The opinion fulfills one mandate of Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as it “creates a near insurmountable presumption that unlawful discrimination exists wherever there are any differences in outcomes among different [demographic groups].”
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
Auto Dealers: The FTC Is Back in the Driver’s Seat — Warning Letters Signal Renewed Federal Scrutiny
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