The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo upended decades of precedent that required courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of statutes. This, known as the Chevron doctrine, allowed for...more
7/11/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tucker Act
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its annual report to Congress on bid protests for Fiscal Year 2023....more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to navigate the impact of the injunction entered in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., No. 2:20-CV-00041-DCLC-CRW, 2023 WL 463348 (E.D. Tenn. July 19, 2023)...more
As in prior years, the upcoming end of the federal fiscal year will be marked by a flurry of contract and task order awards, as federal agencies busily obligate remaining fiscal year 2023 appropriated funds while still...more
Effective June 2, 2023, all federal contracts and solicitations are required to include a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause: FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application. This clause implements...more
The 8(a) Program is in a state of uncertainty as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requires participants who relied on the presumption of social disadvantage to enter the program to obtain SBA approval of personal...more
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the federal government has committed to funding more than $1 trillion for projects involving construction, manufacturing and energy initiatives. Much of this funding will be...more
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published three final rules on Aug. 11, 2021, amending the FAR to implement changes mandated by various National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) and to homogenize the FAR...more
8/13/2021
/ Administrative Procedure ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
NDAA ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Women-Owned Businesses
On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a comprehensive Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity that promises sweeping changes in federal contracts for information technology (IT), cloud services and...more
5/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
OMB ,
Software ,
Supply Chain
Whenever a new president takes office, particularly when there is a switch in party control of the executive branch, change comes soon after. The first day of the Biden Administration was no exception, with a flurry of new...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) are intended for small businesses to support ongoing...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to spread throughout the United States, many government contractors are faced with unknown questions about continuing performance on contracts. Given the fast-moving situation,...more
With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading outside of China at an ever-increasing rate, government contractors should prepare for possible service and payment interruptions. In addition, the administration is considering...more
3/2/2020
/ Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Production Act ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Prime Contractor ,
Public Contracts ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Subcontractors ,
Supply Chain
Veteran-Owned Business Priority -
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court surprised many by hearing a bid protest concerning the application of the "Rule of Two" for veteran-owned small businesses in procurements run by the U.S....more
2/26/2020
/ Administrative Reconsideration ,
Bid Protests ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
Kingdomware Techs. Inc. v United States ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Prime Contractor ,
Rule of Two ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Veterans ,
VOSB
After a year of uncertainty, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued its long-awaited final rule implementing the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018. The final rule, which becomes effective on January...more
'Tis the season to be jolly, but federal contractors should exercise caution when interacting with employees of the agencies they serve to keep the season bright – and ethical. Here are some key points to remember before...more
On November 27, 2019, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Regulation Supplement (DFARS) regarding the Treatment of Certain Items as Commercial Items (DFARS Case 2019-D029). The...more
A recent protest decision highlights a little-known sole source authority unique to GSA Schedule procurements that could benefit federal contractors and their agency customers working on complex information technology...more
On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its annual Bid Protest Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2019. The annual report is a requirement of the Competition in Contracting Act and is an...more
On November 8, 2019, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a substantial proposed rule addressing a plethora of potential changes to the regulations governing small business programs. Below is a snapshot of key...more
11/11/2019
/ Civilian Agency Task Orders ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
Proposed Regulation ,
SBA ,
Set-Asides ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors
On Halloween, President Trump issued an Executive Order rescinding one of the most notable employment-related executive orders from the Obama Administration: Executive Order 13495, commonly known as the Nondisplacement of...more
11/8/2019
/ Contract Terms ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Agencies ,
Rescission ,
Service Contract Act ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
Trump Administration
It's official – the longest federal government shutdown in history is over, at least for now. For contractors whose work and payments were affected by the shutdown, the questions now are: what can we get paid for and how do...more
1/29/2019
/ Cost Recovery ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Notice Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
To ring in the new year, we have an important update on the Small Business Runway Extension Act. Effective Dec. 21, 2018, Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an internal notice that the Small Business Runway Extension...more
The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) recently dismissed a protest by a state licensing agency (SLA) challenging the elimination of its proposal from the competitive range under a solicitation issued pursuant to the...more
Identifying threats and improving network and supply chain security has been an ongoing effort by Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) for the past several years. Congress has included multiple provisions in the...more
9/18/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Popular ,
Private Sector ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State Procurement Contracts ,
Supply Chain