On April 15, President Trump issued two new executive orders that will have a direct impact on federal contractors:
- Restoring Common Sense To Federal Procurement directs federal agencies to eliminate from the FAR any...more
4/17/2025
/ Contract Terms ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
OMB ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration
On March 14, President Trump issued a new Executive Order titled “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” In this order, the President rescinded eighteen prior Executive Orders or presidential...more
On February 21, Judge Adam B. Abelson of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the Trump administration from implementing major portions of two...more
3/4/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Free Speech ,
Maryland ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
Though much is still unclear about the precise impact of recent executive orders, statements from the EEOC and guidance issued by sixteen state attorneys general provide a sense of how states and federal agencies are...more
2/18/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration
Federal government agencies propound small business contracting goals that guide other agencies with regard to how much of their contracting dollars should be awarded to small businesses. The SBA conducts an annual review and...more
The plaintiffs and the federal government seek a 90-day stay in Mid-America Milling Company v. United States Department of Transportation, Case No. 3:23-cv-00072, “to permit [the federal government] the opportunity to...more
On February 4, in Texas v. President Trump & Department of Labor, a Fifth Circuit panel reversed a permanent injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The injunction prohibited the...more
2/7/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) ,
Injunctions ,
Minimum Wage ,
SCOTUS ,
Texas ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On December 17, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued a final rule that made significant changes to the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program. The final rule generally adopted many of the changes SBA...more
1/30/2025
/ Amended Rules ,
Compliance ,
Eligibility Determination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Small Business
Last week, six organizations who represent Disadvantaged Business Enterprises moved to intervene in Mid-America Milling Company, LLC, et al. v. United States Department of Transportation, Case No. 3:23-cv-0072-GFVT-EBA. In...more
On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”
The order states that it ends “all discriminatory and illegal preferences,...more
1/29/2025
/ 8(a) Program ,
Affirmative Action ,
Alaska ,
DBE Program ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Rule of Two ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Subcontracts ,
Tribal Corporations ,
Trump Administration
On December 17, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued a final rule that made significant changes to the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program. The final rule generally adopted many of the changes SBA...more
On January 21, 2025, the Court of Federal Claims issued an order that, in effect, invalidates President Joe Biden’s February 4, 2022 Executive Order (14063) and 48 C.F.R. Subpart 22.5, Use of Project Labor Agreements for...more
1/22/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Bid Protests ,
Biden Administration ,
CICA ,
Competition ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
State and Local Government
On December 17, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued a final rule that made significant changes to the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program. The final rule generally adopts many of the changes that SBA...more
On December 19, the Small Business Administration published proposed amendments to 13 CFR § 125.3 that would affect small business subcontracting. Their goal is to accelerate payments to small business subcontractors and...more
On December 17, the Small Business Administration issued a final rule that makes significant changes to the agency’s small business 8(a) and HUBZone programs. These generally extend the changes the SBA initially proposed in...more
12/24/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Business Development ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
SBA ,
SDVO ,
Small Business ,
WOSB
On December 16, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program (CMMC) final rule (the “CMMC Program Rule”) will become effective, to codify the CMMC requirements and assessment processes....more
11/19/2024
/ Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
New Rules ,
NIST ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO)
The Department of Defense finally issued its rule to implement Section 865 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024 (Pub. L. 118-31). The act required the DoD to issue a regulation by July 2024...more
As we have previously discussed, businesses that contract with the U.S. government must maintain System of Award Management registration to be eligible for contract awards. We have also discussed the requirement that SAM...more
On October 25, the Small Business Administration proposed a rule intended to increase small business participation in multiple-award contracts. The rule would apply the “Rule of Two” to task and delivery orders issued under...more
As we have previously discussed, government contractors generally must maintain System of Award Management (SAM) registration from the time the contractor makes an offer or quotation, at the time of the award, during...more
The False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. § 3729, prohibits federal contractors and others from defrauding the government through the submission of false claims that cause the government to pay too much or receive too little. The...more
As we have previously discussed, a case filed in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Mid-America Milling Company, LLC, et. al. v. U.S. Department of Transportation, et. al., Case No. 3:23-cv-72,...more
On Friday, August 23, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program, as well as modifications to other small business...more
8/26/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Comment Period ,
Deadlines ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Small Business
The decision to overrule Chevron will likely have impacts on government contracting. A vast array of government contracting regulations that control contracts, such as Davis-Bacon Act requirements, Service Contract Act...more
7/9/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SBA ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Contract Act ,
Statutory Interpretation
On Tuesday, June 18, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued a notice to request public comment on whether and how to amend the Cost Accounting Standards Board’s rules that govern the application of Cost Accounting...more