| Description |
This article argues that a plain reading of the FCA reveals that federal employees and military service members have standing to prosecute qui tam actions. In support of this argument, this article provides a brief history of qui tam actions, from their origination in England and later adoption by the American colonies to the FalseClaims Act of 1863 and the modern-day False Claims Act. This article then analyzes the cases interpreting the FCA, its statutory structure, and the various arguments proponents and opponents of government employee qui tam actions have made. Then this article argues that federal employees and service members should have standing to file qui tam actions, but only in limited and defined circumstances. Finally, this article suggests an amendment to the FCA that would explicitly set out under what circumstances federal employees and service members should have standing to prosecute an FCA qui tam action. In particular, this article proposes that a board (to be named the Qui Tam Advisory Board) should be created to screen all prospective federal employee qui tam actions and then have the authority to either allow the employee to proceed or bar the employee from prosecuting an FCA qui tam action. (Description from Source) |