On January 30, 2024, the Biden administration proposed a rule (the Salary Rule) that would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to “prohibit contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information...more
2/9/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
Vaccinations
The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recently issued annual bid protest report is noteworthy because it shows that 31% of bid protests were sustained — more than double the rate for prior years— and that protesters...more
On June 2, 2023, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an interim rule to implement a new statutory requirement that, in short, bans the TikTok app from devices used in...more
6/16/2023
/ Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Technology ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts ,
TikTok
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in AttainX, recently sustained a bid protest where the protester argued that the agency’s evaluation was inconsistent with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) regulations...more
On January 30, 2023, the Biden administration stated that it intends to extend the previously declared COVID-19 national emergency and the separately declared public health emergency until May 11, 2023, and then end both...more
In 2022, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued six bid protest decisions worthy of particular note.
- ASRC Federal Data Solutions LLC
- ESimplicity Inc. v. U.S.
-...more
There’s a common quip in Washington that federal employees leaving their jobs to work in the private sector are “going to the Dark Side.”
However, what is not so funny for federal contractors and former executive branch...more
More than ten months ago, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, which imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on many federal contractors and subcontractors. As we have previously reported, the order...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued a final rule that provides two new methods for small business government contractors to obtain past performance ratings to be used in support of offers on prime...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in SEKRI, Inc. v. United States, recently added to the growing body of case law that has declined to extend the scope of the Blue & Gold waiver rule...more
More than seven months ago, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, which imposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on many federal contractors and subcontractors. As we have previously reported, the...more
Ringing out 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Systems Studies & Simulation, Inc. v. United States, recently held that there generally is no presumption that a protester has suffered competitive...more
In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued six bid protest decisions worthy of note:
• InfoPoint LLC
• Medline...more
As promised, on September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors about the implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14042, which imposed a...more
9/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
New Guidance ,
Remote Working ,
Solicitation ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
With Delta variant infections on the rise, the Biden administration recently announced that “every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status,” and that anyone who...more
The Biden administration recently announced that “every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status,” and that anyone who “does not attest to being fully vaccinated...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), in Sierra Nevada Corporation v. United States, recently held that a contracting agency’s justification of a sole-source contract award ran afoul of the Competition in Contracting Act...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in Spartan Medical, Inc., B-419503, recently clarified the scope of its jurisdiction over bid protests involving an agency's use of its other transaction agreement (OTA) authority....more
President Biden recently signed an executive order (EO) that will increase the minimum wage rate to be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with a federal contract from $10.95 per hour to $15.00 per hour...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in Spartan Medical, Inc., B-419503, recently clarified the scope of its jurisdiction over bid protests involving an agency’s use of its other transaction agreement (OTA) authority....more
In NIKA Technologies v. U.S., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently reversed the holding of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims regarding when the protest-filing clock starts running for a stay of contract...more
A few months ago, we wrote about how the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) had defined when the protest clock starts running for a stay of contract performance pending a bid protest if the Department of Defense’s (DOD)...more
12/14/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bid Protests ,
COFC ,
Construction Contracts ,
Debriefing ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
NDAA ,
Oral Argument ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
Fans of the classic 1960s cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle may recall two minor characters, Chauncey and Edgar, who commented on the action by saying something like this: “Now there’s something you don’t see every day,...more
9/14/2020
/ Bid Protests ,
COFC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Licensing Rules ,
Motion To Intervene ,
State and Local Government ,
State Licenses ,
Subcontractors ,
Vendors
A recent bid protest appeal decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — XOtech, LLC v. United States — provides clear guidance on what it means to “control” a service-disabled veteran-owned small business...more
Weasel words: “Words or statements that are intentionally ambiguous or misleading.” Concise Oxford English Dictionary 1635 (11th ed. rev. 2008).
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) recently dismissed in...more