We have addressed on this blog questions relating to jurisdiction at the GAO, Court of Federal Claims (CFC), and district courts to hear suits relating to awards using the government’s Other Transaction (OT) authority....more
On December 21, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) dismissed a protest by ELS, an unsuccessful bidder on a Department of Defense (DOD) task order opportunity, concluding that it did not have jurisdiction to consider...more
On December 20, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest, arguing, among other things, that the procurement was tainted by an appearance of impropriety after the agency...more
On November 8, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest that asserted the Veteran Administration’s (VA) evaluation of Texas Waste Company’s past performance was unreasonable and...more
We represented AM General (AMG), an automotive manufacturer that builds military vehicles for government customers, including the Humvee, in a successful bid protest involving a $9.7 billion contract for the U.S. Army to...more
On February 4, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which mandates, with limited exceptions, that contractors and subcontractors working on federal...more
2/11/2022
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Employees ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Subcontractors ,
Unions
For nearly two years, we have been reporting on this blog about the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. CMMC is a training, certification, and third-party assessment...more
In a decision issued on November 17, JKB Solutions v. United States, the Federal Circuit held that the commercial item termination for convenience provision at FAR 52.212-4(l) incorporated by reference into a contract for...more
As contractors and agencies scramble to comply with the government contractor vaccine mandate, there seems to be growing confusion over whether contractors or federal agencies are responsible for evaluating whether contractor...more
10/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFARS ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Joint Employers ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations
While most federal procurements are conducted using the onerous regulations set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency supplements, agencies are increasingly relying on the more flexible, but...more
Well, that was quick. In four memos dated September 30 and October 1, contractors learned the terms of the contract provisions implementing the COVID-19 vaccine and masking requirements mandated by President Biden’s...more
10/6/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Masks ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 24, following President Biden’s September 9 Executive Order, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force) issued new guidance on COVID-19...more
9/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
To protect the U.S. industrial base, among other reasons, companies that sell goods to the U.S. government are required to comply with domestic source restrictions that dictate the percentage of domestic content and have the...more
2/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Made in the USA ,
Steel Industry ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
The Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) recently released its annual report to Congress regarding suspension and debarment across the federal government in FY 2019. The report serves as a yearly reminder...more
The government fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, and at the end of each fiscal year federal agencies rush to award contracts and commit funding before that funding expires. As a result, our Government Contracts...more
As we noted in a blog post in December 2016, “LPTA Out, Fixed Price Contracts In,” the Department of Defense (DoD) has been moving to restrict the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation methodology, which...more
10/10/2019
/ Bid Protests ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Final Rules ,
LPTA ,
NDAA ,
New Rules
Teaming Arrangements under the FAR -
Under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 9.6, a contractor teaming arrangement is when:
1. Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime...more
As we previously reported, Congress has taken its final steps in repealing Obama’s Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces rule, one of the most controversial rules enacted by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council under...more
3/28/2017
/ Blacklist ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Obama Administration ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
On December 8, 2016, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017 previously passed by the House, and the legislation is pending President Obama’s signature. Once signed, Section 835 of the NDAA...more
Over the past year, the big news for companies doing or considering business in Iran has been the scaling back of U.S. and EU economic sanctions. Many global businesses are now permitted to operate in this once prohibited...more
11/2/2016
/ Certification Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
System For Award Management (SAM)
On October 24, 2016, U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone granted a preliminary injunction to halt the implementation of the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order 13673 (EO 13673), implementing provisions of the Federal...more
10/26/2016
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Blacklist ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Process ,
Executive Authority ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
FAPIIS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
NLRA ,
OFPP ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Service Contract Act