The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative (the “Initiative”), which was announced on May 19, 2025 via Memorandum from Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, and a related press release (the “Memorandum”). The Initiative is a coordinated enforcement effort by various DOJ components and other federal agencies to investigate and prosecute
On April 23, 2025, the United States Department of Justice announced that it is rescinding the January 31, 2022 Notice of Report on Lawful Uses of Race or Sex in Federal Contracting Programs (the “2022 Report”). The April 23 announcement (the “Announcement”) does not clarify what practices or activities constitute inappropriate DEI programs. Rather, the
On April 2, we reported that Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Department of Labor from enforcing certain provisions of Executive Orders 14173 and 14151, both of which limit or prohibit federal grants or programs relating to “illegal,” “unlawful,”
he year 2025 is shaping up to be quite the challenging year for the construction industry. From the President’s executive order nos. 14151 and 14174 (signed January 20 and 21, 2025, respectively) seeking to end DEI-related programs in federal contracts (including construction), to the tariffs that have been instituted on construction materials such as steel
The Federal Government’s recent imposition of tariffs appears designed largely to bring manufacturing back inside the United States. News reports indicate the Government understands that tariffs may initially cause pain but accepts that trade-off to press investment in future growth of U.S. manufacturing. As such, there may be increased opportunities for construction companies who build
On March 14, 2025, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the government’s request to stay a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of elements of President Trump’s Executive Order 14173 (signed January 21, 2025) ending DEI programs within federal grant and contract processes, and his similar Executive Order 14151 (signed January
On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14173 titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”). As was noted in our February 10, 2025, article, the Order amounted to an initial step by the Trump administration to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) as well as diversity, equity, inclusion
Artificial Intelligence will impact construction in ways that are both predictable and unexpected. Similar to technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and GPS, the use of AI hopes to make construction safer, less prone to error, find issues earlier, and reduce delay and costs. However, AI (like a human) is only as good as
Recent actions by the federal government have called into question the use of measures intended to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) on federal construction projects or projects receiving federal funding. On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14173 (the “Order”) revoking Executive Order 11246 signed by President Johnson in 1965. The revoked
President Trump’s prospective assessment of 25% tariffs on certain materials coming from Canada and Mexico, and prospective 10% tariffs on certain material from China, may increase contractor costs in fulfillment of construction contracts. While the details of which materials are tariffed will be clarified in the coming days, impacts on project costs may be substantial.