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 the President’s first day in office, January 20, the White House released Executive Order 14153, titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” (the “Alaska EO”). The Alaska EO states that:
The State of...more
2/7/2025
/ Alaska ,
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mining ,
Oil & Gas ,
Public Land ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On January 20, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” (the “Alaska EO”). The order reverses decisions by the Biden administration to limit energy resource...more
1/31/2025
/ Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tribal Lands ,
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
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 November 29, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration published a proposed rule that would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to adjust...more
We have previously discussed the State of Alaska’s challenge to the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the “Public Lands Rule.” Seeking to defend the rule, which treats...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which affects many small and medium-sized businesses across the United States, went into effect on January 1, 2024. For entities subject to the CTA, reports including information about...more
On November 15, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas invalidated the Department of Labor’s final rule that increased the minimum salary for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemption...more
12/2/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
State and Local Government ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
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
Last Spring, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”) with a 7-2 decision in Brackeen v. Haaland. The majority opinion in that case, written by Justice Barrett,...more
In Mid-America Milling Company v. United States Department of Transportation, Case No. 3:23-cv-00072 (“Mid-America”), the plaintiffs challenged the United States Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) use of a rebuttable...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
Under the Bureau of Land Management’s recently promulgated Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, 43 C.F.R. §§ 6100-6103.2, the BLM must seek to achieve “ecosystem resilience,” which encapsulates an ecosystem’s ability to...more