Department of Justice Joins Whistleblower Suit Against Contractor That Allegedly Failed to Honor Its Contractual Promises

Fluor Hanford Inc., a subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, which is based in Texas, provides a wide range of services to government and private customers. Fluor held the prime contract to provide maintenance and operational services at the United States Department of Energy's Hanford Nuclear Site, located in southeastern Washington State. As part of its contract, Fluor managed and operated the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response ("HAMMER") Center, which provided training to workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site, first responders and law enforcement personnel. As a part of it contract with the United States Department of Energy, Fluor certified, or promised, that it would not use federal funds for lobbying activities.

The United States, in joining the whistleblower's lawsuit, alleges that, contrary to its contractual promises, Fluor used federal funding to lobby Congress and other officials for additional funding for HAMMER. The United States' decision to intervene in the whistleblower's lawsuit demonstrates that the Department of Justice does not tolerate government contractors who misuse government funds and fail to honor their contractual promises to the United States.

Fluor has not admitted liability. The whistleblower in this case, Loydene Rambo, is a former Fluor employee, and stands to share in any recovery from Fluor made by the United States. Whistleblowers play a critical role in identifying government contractors that accept government funds but do not comply with government requirements.