In Nat’l Assoc. of Diversity Officers in Higher Ed. v. Trump, D. Md, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that blocks, at least for now, some of the more salient provisions of President Donald Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that affects federal contractors and other private sector employers. […]
Section 3(b)(iv) requires the head of each government agency to include in every contract or grant a term requiring the contractor or grantee to certify its compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws (i.e., no illegal DEI). Moreover, such certification is a material term to the government’s payment under the contract or grant for purposes of claims under the False Claim Act where penalties for violations include, but are not limited to, treble damages.