The Library

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued policy memoranda in May and July of 2025 announcing a stated intent to investigate entities that accept federal dollars via contracts and grants while engaging in “race, ethnicity, or national-origin based preferences” in employment practices. These policies evidence the DOJ’s expanded use of the False Claims Act (FCA) to investigate and, in some cases, take action against companies whose DEI efforts are perceived to violate federal law. These policies are now beginning to take shape, as the DOJ has recently initiated multiple investigations into the DEI practices of several major companies that contract […]

While many may think of resolutions, family, friends, a Times Square countdown, or new beginnings on New Year’s Day, January 1 also quietly marks a significant annual event for copyright law. Each year, many previously copyrighted works enter the public domain, eliminating their copyright protection and rendering them available for use and reproduction by the public at large. Duke University publishes a list of works entering the public domain, and 2026 will see a number of iconic works and characters from 1930 become free for public use and distribution. For example, some works entering the public domain this year include […]

Businesses with employees who work in Virginia and are paid by commission received an early New Year’s Eve present when a divided Supreme Court of Virginia overturned a 2024 ruling by the Virginia Court of Appeals that had extended the protections of the Virginia Wage Payment Act beyond wages and salaries to commissions and all other forms of compensation.[1] Groundworks Operations LLC v. Campbell, Record No. 241092 (Va. Dec. 30, 2025) Justice McCulloch writing for the majority concluded “the language of the [wage theft] statute and its context do not support an interpretation that extends its protections to commissions.”[2] In […]

On December 11, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14365, titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” The order seeks to establish a unified federal approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to prevent what the administration calls a “patchwork” of state laws that could hinder innovation and impose excessive compliance costs. After rescinding the prior administration’s comprehensive 2023 executive order on AI governance, Executive Order 14110 (titled “Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence”), in January, President Trump’s executive order constitutes the current administration’s latest effort to supersede regulation of AI […]

Overview of the 8(a) Program and Background The SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program (the “Program”) supports small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and certain entities (e.g., Alaska Native Corporations, American Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations).  Eligible firms gain access to set-aside federal contracting opportunities, plus tailored counseling, training, and technical support. In recent years, the Program has come under much scrutiny.  Beginning in 2023 in response to a challenge in federal court, the SBA ended its practice of providing a “presumption” of social disadvantage to certain identified ethnic groups and has since required all current and […]