The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a proposed regulation that would reinstitute the requirement that contractors give offers of employment to workers covered by the Service Contract Labor Standards, also known as...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued the final rule implementing President Joe Biden's Executive Order, "Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors," imposing a $15 minimum wage for a wide swath of...more
12/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
Wage and Hour
The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force released updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Federal Contractors on Nov. 1, 2021, regarding its COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors...more
11/4/2021
/ Affiliates ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Discipline ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Good Faith ,
Masks ,
New Guidance ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Safety Precautions ,
SBA ,
Social Distancing ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of its new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative — an effort designed to harness the department's knowledge in civil fraud enforcement, government...more
10/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Certification Requirements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Whistleblowers
As required by President Joe Biden's Executive Order on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors on Sept. 9, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the Task Force) issued its COVID-19 Workplace...more
9/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Guidance ,
Public Contracts ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
President Joe Biden issued two Executive Orders (EOs) on Sept. 9, 2021, aimed at curtailing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first – Executive Order on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees –...more
The Biden Administration released guidance on Aug. 3, 2021, providing additional clarification regarding COVID-19 vaccine attestation and testing for government contractor personnel who work on a federal government-controlled...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released proposed regulations that would implement President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) that would establish a $15 minimum wage for a wide swath of contractor employees. While final...more
The Biden Administration on June 8, 20201, released findings from a 100-day interagency domestic supply chain assessment of critical products and outlined a series of steps it will take in order to strengthen U.S. critical...more
6/14/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Defense Production Act ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
International Trade ,
Manufacturers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Section 232 ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Commerce Department
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
Building on a previous executive order (EO) issued by President Barack Obama that increased the minimum wage for contractor employees to $10.10 (and automatically increased every year to keep pace with inflation), President...more
Holland & Knight invites you to read the Spring 2021 issue of our Energy and Natural Resources Quarterly newsletter, in which our authors discuss important hot topics and developments in energy, natural resources and...more
3/25/2021
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Tech ,
Colombia ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Energy Projects ,
Executive Orders ,
Forestry ,
Fracking ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Latin America ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supply Chain
President Joe Biden has signed an Executive Order (EO) on America's Supply Chains, mandating a 100-day review of the global supply chains used by key industries in an effort to avoid the shortages in medical equipment,...more
3/3/2021
/ Administrative Authority ,
Batteries ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Production Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
FEMA ,
Medical Equipment ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Vaccinations
President Joe Biden signed on Jan. 25, 2021, executive order (EO) "Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers," that directs a process for updating domestic preferences. This EO builds upon a...more
1/27/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Buy American and Hire American ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Technology ,
Made in the USA ,
Manufacturers ,
OMB ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Rescission ,
Suppliers ,
Trade Agreements ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
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
On Sept. 22, 2020, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 13950, "Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping." Among other things, the EO prohibits federal contractors from promoting "race or sex stereotyping or...more
10/15/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
The Trump administration issued an executive order (EO) that will prohibit all contractors from providing employee training regarding subjects cited within the EO tied to race and sex relations. A contractor's obligation to...more
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
This week, President Donald Trump signed twin executive orders aimed at reigning in executive agency regulatory powers. The first, "Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents" (the Guidance EO) seeks...more
Taking over as editors of Holland & Knight’s Government Contracts Blog has been a labor, but it has been a labor of love. Like the rest of the Government Contracts Team, we are passionate about staying on top of the latest...more
12/28/2017
/ Bid Protests ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
E-Commerce ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
LPTA ,
NDAA ,
New Guidance ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sick Leave ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Wage and Hour ,
White Collar Crimes
The White House just issued a long-awaited Cybersecurity Executive Order (EO). The EO is divided into five sections, which we will summarize in turn -
Section 1 of the EO includes "policy," "findings," and "risk...more