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Over a vigorous dissent last week, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and held the False Claims Act’s anti-retaliation provision protects former employees alleging post-termination retaliation.
United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hosp., No. 20-1002, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 9387 (6th Cir. Mar. 31, 2021). The decision creates a circuit split with the Tenth Circuit.
See Potts v. Center for Excellence in Higher Education, Inc., 908 F.3d 610 (10th Cir. 2018) (“We conclude that the False Claims Act’s anti-retaliation provision unambiguously excludes relief for retaliatory acts occurring after the employee has left employment.”).
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Can an employer be held liable under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) for retaliation if it takes some adverse action against a
former employee? Until recently, only one federal appellate court had addressed the issue, holding that the FCA does
not cover post-employment retaliation.[1] However, on April 1, 2021, the Sixth Circuit reached the opposite conclusion in
United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hospital, creating a circuit split and different rules for employers in different jurisdictions.
Background
In 2010, David Felten filed an action on behalf of the United States and the State of Michigan against his employer, William Beaumont Hospital, alleging that it had violated the FCA and a comparable Michigan law by paying physicians for referrals of Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE patients. Felten also asserted a retaliation claim against Beaumont based on actions it had allegedly taken against him because he “insist[ed]
6th Circ: False Claims Act Protects from Post-Termination Retaliation natlawreview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from natlawreview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday, April 1, 2021
On March 31, 2021, in
United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hospital, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s allegedly retaliatory conduct directed at an employee
after the employee’s termination can give rise to a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation claim. In doing so, the Sixth Circuit embraced a minority position among courts nationwide and created a split with the Tenth Circuit, which held in 2018 that only retaliation against someone who is a current employee at the time can support an FCA claim.
The facts of
Felten are relatively straightforward. Mr. Felten believed that his employer, a hospital, was violating the FCA and an analogous Michigan statute by paying kickbacks to physicians and physicians’ groups in exchange for referrals of Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE patients. Mr. Felten filed a
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