On February 26, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) calling for a sweeping review of government contracts over the next 30 days and directing that contracts be terminated or modified to reduce overall federal...more
2/28/2025
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Termination ,
Trump Administration
Among the many issues raised by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs is the prospect...more
2/7/2025
/ Contractors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released Memorandum M-24-18, which directs how federal agencies will procure artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. M-24-18 and its accompanying fact sheet,...more
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released updated guidance for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by federal contractors on April 29, 2024—the latest indication that federal contractors’ use and...more
5/20/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
OFCCP ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes numerous provisions relevant to government contractors in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, supply chain concerns related to...more
12/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bid Protests ,
Cost-Shifting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
NDAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published two proposed rules on October 3, 2023, that would impose significant new cybersecurity obligations on government contractors, including requiring them to share...more
Clarifying a significant issue in government contracts litigation against the government, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held that the so-called “sum certain” requirement for Contract Disputes Act (CDA)...more
Inflation relief for defense contractors, a ban on procurement of products and services containing certain Chinese semiconductors, and codification of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) governing...more
12/30/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
FedRAMP ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, announced last October, is designed to leverage existing whistleblower incentives for employees, or other persons with inside knowledge, to identify lapses...more
Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and nontraditional approaches to procurement are once again areas of legislative focus for Congress in the recently passed Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),...more
12/23/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Machine Learning ,
NDAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Supply Chain
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative to pursue civil False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions against government contractors that knowingly fail to follow required cybersecurity...more
10/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Oversight
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 7, 2021, that a North Carolina engineering firm agreed to pay a $7 million fine and $1.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to engaging in bid rigging and fraud...more
6/14/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Best Practices ,
Bid Rigging ,
Biden Administration ,
Bids ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Procurement Collusion Strike Force ,
Procurement Guidelines
On May 12, 2021, President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order (EO) to protect federal government networks and software supply chains against increasing threats of attacks from malicious cyber actors, setting the stage...more
5/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
DFARS ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Technology ,
Labeling ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
SaaS ,
Software ,
Supply Chain
President Biden signed an executive order (EO) on January 25, 2021, outlining his administration’s policy to increase procurement of U.S.-made products by expansion of domestic preferences for American-made goods and...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
Notice and Comment ,
OMB ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Suppliers
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a long-awaited interim rule to safeguard unclassified information in the possession of defense contractors by making periodic assessments of a company’s cybersecurity compliance...more
10/5/2020
/ Compliance ,
Controlled Defense Information (CDI) ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Register ,
Interim Rule ,
Model Contract Clauses ,
NIST ,
Third-Party ,
Verification Requirements
The U.S. government has issued a long-awaited rule implementing legislation to prevent federal agencies from contracting with entities that use telecommunications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei...more
7/15/2020
/ China ,
Compliance ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Huawei ,
Interim Rule ,
New Legislation ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Public Comment ,
Subcontractors ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
ZTE
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
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and several federal agencies have issued guidance implementing a provision in the CARES Act that allows government contractors to be reimbursed for paid leave to employees and...more
Businesses that receive government funding under the nearly $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) should be mindful of the heightened risks of government investigations of fraud, waste,...more
Due to rising concerns about the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus, President Trump signed an executive order on March 18, 2020, invoking his authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA). The order designates...more
The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) new cybersecurity verification regime is moving into a new phase, with major implications for contractors.
On January 31, 2020, DoD released version 1.0 of its Cybersecurity Maturity...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving the False Claims Act (FCA) in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, according to statistics released...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is forging ahead in its plan to adopt a new framework for cybersecurity, with significant ramifications for all defense contractors, including subcontractors.
On November 8, 2019, DOD...more
After receiving more than one thousand comments from industry and other stakeholders, on October 1, 2019, the General Services Administration (GSA) will issue a solicitation for a single, consolidated Schedule as part of its...more
Congress is moving closer toward passage of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Although key differences remain between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the legislation is ultimately...more
7/17/2019
/ Bid Protests ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Rights ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Fiscal Year ,
Fixed Price Contracts ,
GAO ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
SBA ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration