The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently reminded federal contractors that the government has broad authority to audit and investigate contractors’ equal employment...more
Last week, in a decision that will increase the burden of proof for contractors in bid protests, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified that prejudice, a critical part of any protest action, is not to be...more
Last week, the federal government began enforcing the requirements of the Executive Order 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors” (COVID EO) and its supporting guidance. The COVID EO directs...more
A key area of focus in the Department of Defense’s (DoD) gradual rollout of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is the training and accreditation of third-party assessors that will be responsible for...more
6/26/2020
/ Accreditation ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Supply Chain ,
Third-Party ,
Training
A common source of organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) is when a firm’s ability to render impartial advice to the government is or might be undermined by the firm’s competing interests. These OCIs, termed “impaired...more
Effective October 1, 2019, a new rule issued by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) amends the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to limit the use of lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA)...more
10/2/2019
/ Bid Protests ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
LPTA ,
Source Selection Authority (SSA)
Whistleblowers bringing qui tam suits under the False Claims Act have up to ten years to file suit against defendants in cases in which the government declines to intervene, the U.S. Supreme Court has held, rejecting a...more
5/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First-to-File ,
Government Officials ,
Intervenors ,
Oral Argument ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
Starting May 1, 2018, the General Accounting Office (GAO) will require that all new protests (except those containing classified information) be filed using its web-based electronic filing system known as the Electronic...more
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA or the Board) recently released a decision addressing the final issue of materiality in the long saga of the Raytheon accounting change case. ASBCA No. 58068, August 9,...more
Do words matter? In a precedent-setting decision in Harris IT Services Corp., B-411699, B-411796, GAO said “yes.” In particular, GAO made clear that the phrase “delivery order” has a particular meaning under the law and that...more