The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is overhauling and remaking its regulations aimed at contractor cybersecurity and privacy practices. Any companies in the VA supply chain should take note and ensure compliance...more
1/27/2023
/ Compliance ,
Counterfeiting ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Breach Notification Standard ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
General Solicitation ,
Liquidated Damages ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws
The Biden Administration released its Fall 2022 regulatory agenda (Regulatory Agenda) on Jan. 4, 2023. In it, the administration outlined regulations aimed at cybersecurity requirements for government contractors, the...more
1/10/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
FERC ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Maritime Transport ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
2023 promises to be a pivotal year for cybersecurity in government contracts. Besides the implementation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, new regulations are coming for civilian contractors,...more
President Joe Biden signed into law the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (2023 NDAA or Defense Bill) on Dec. 23, 2022. The Defense Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on...more
12/27/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Iran ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
North Korea ,
Popular ,
Prime Contractor ,
Russia ,
Safe Harbors ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Waivers
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a final rule on Nov. 29, 2022, establishing its Veteran Small Business Certification Program for veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and service-disabled veteran-owned...more
12/14/2022
/ Certification Requirements ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Contractors ,
NAIC ,
NDAA ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
System For Award Management (SAM) ,
Veterans ,
VOSB
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) on Nov. 14, 2022, released a sweeping proposed regulation concerning greenhouse gas reporting requirements titled "Federal Acquisition Regulation: Disclosure of...more
11/16/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Contractors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Prime Contractor ,
Proposed Rules ,
Subsidiaries
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its annual Bid Protest Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2022 on Nov. 1, 2022. The annual report is a requirement of the Competition in Contracting Act and an...more
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 Defense (DoD) recently released a memorandum signaling its increasing willingness to review contractor compliance with cybersecurity standards in its contracts and take action against noncompliant...more
7/14/2022
/ Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NIST ,
Popular
Ostensibly as part of a comprehensive overhaul of its acquisition regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed resurrecting the contractor blacklisting rule, which was overturned by Congress under the...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
With the announcement of a revamped Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (known as CMMC 2.0),1 for the third time in five years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced new, comprehensive cybersecurity standards...more
12/8/2021
/ Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Qui Tam
The Biden Administration on Nov. 4, 2021, announced that it is revising the deadline for the federal contractor vaccination requirement from Dec. 8, 2021, to "no later than January 4, 2022." The White House is revising the...more
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