HOME DEPOT HIT WITH MAJOR WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT FOR VIOLATING BUY AMERICA ACT: LISTS CHINESE MADE PRODUCTS ON GSA SCHEDULE

A whistleblower lawsuit has been leveled against Home Depot by employees of Actus Lend Lease, a partner company of Home Depot, who revealed that both companies supplied goods to U.S. government agencies through their GSA Schedules which were incorrectly identified as being compliant with the Buy American Act but which were actually made in China. When applying for a GSA schedule, companies are required by law to certify the source of each product offered. The 1933 Buy American Act was passed to protect American jobs and requires that end products purchased by the government be made in the USA. There are a few exceptions provided the countries are part of certain trade treaties, of which China is not. The case was file under the federal False Claims Act, which allows private individuals to sue for the government when there is fraud and to collect between 15-25% of the amount collected by the government.