The Government Contracts Quarterly Update is published by BakerHostetler’s Government Contracts Practice team to inform our clients and friends of the latest developments in federal government contracting.

Topics in the current issue include:

- Bid Protests: Court of Federal Claims Bid Protest Jurisdiction Limited

- Contract Spotlight: Certified Claims

- Cost Allowability: Supreme Court Tacitly Endorses Rejection of Business Judgment When Gauging Cost Reasonableness

- Cybersecurity: Government Releases New Guidelines for Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information on Contractors’ Systems

- False Claims: DOJ Announces Record-Breaking FCA Recoveries

- Labor and Employment: DOL Final Rules Require Contractors to Change Policies to Prohibit Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

- Labor and Employment: New Minimum Wage Rule Set to Increase Labor and Compliance Costs

- Offeror Due Diligence: Electronic Proposal Submission Using Agency-Mandated Portals—Contractor Diligence

- Excerpt from Bid Protests: Court of Federal Claims Bid Protest Jurisdiction Limited

- History has proven since enactment of the Competition in Contracting Act (“CICA”) that bid protests are one of the most powerful legal tools in a contractor’s toolbox, allowing aggrieved offerors to police federal agencies to ensure fairness and honest dealing throughout the solicitation and award process. The mere specter of being brought before the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) provides a powerful incentive for agencies to respect the procurement process. Although the COFC and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) (collectively the “Courts”) have expanded the scope of agency actions and decisions that can be subject to protest jurisdiction under the Tucker Act, in select recent decisions, the Courts have taken steps to limit—rather than expand—the Courts’ jurisdiction.