Government contractors face mounting costs and operational chaos as the federal shutdown stretches every closer to the longest in U.S.

But there’s another problem besides late payments and expired contracts: Companies are frightened and fearful to exercise their legal rights to recoup losses.

“After the DOGE actions to eviscerate USAID and pretty much punish many, many agencies and terminate thousands of contracts, I think the contractor community is tentative to actually enforce their rights,” David Dixon, an attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said Thursday as part of the law firm’s DC Disrupted webinar series.

Dixon said this question he is getting from contractors reveals the depth of their anxiety:

Will the government retaliate against me for simply asking to be reimbursed for costs caused by the shutdown?

Given this is not the first shutdown the market has experienced, the processes for recovering costs are-well established through administrative means such as “requests for equitable adjustment.” Contractors use this process to seek compensation when government delays or changes increase their costs or extend timelines.

“These are regular administrative functions that every contractor should be aware of and should be able to process,” Dixon said. “Requesting an equitable adjustment should be a standard action that shouldn’t cause retaliation at all.”