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
On November 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a message to which everyone in the government contracting, federal grant and program funding worlds should pay attention to by announcing the creation of a "Procurement...more
11/13/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DOJ Strike Force ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan
It's been ten years since the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to require government contractors to have a business ethics and compliance program – that's right, it's a requirement in every government contract...more
6/17/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Chief Ethics and Compliance Officers (CECO) ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Internal Controls ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors
Last week, the DOJ Criminal Division published a guidance document entitled "Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs" (ECCP). This document is meant to assist prosecutors in determining what credit should be given to a...more
5/7/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Best Practices ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Senior Managers
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
More than five years after Congress directed the Executive Branch to change the way small business contract performance requirements are calculated, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation...more
12/6/2018
/ Amended Regulation ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contracting Procedures ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
NDAA ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors
Contractors with corporate structures involving more than one entity, such as parent and subsidiary, utilize multiple Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Codes. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruling is a...more
Takeaways for all government contractors -
1. Review your SAM.gov registration to ensure it is accurate, especially as to banking information and authorized Entity Administrators.
2. Prepare and submit notarized...more
This is the second blog post in a series of blogs analyzing the current draft of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as agreed-to by House and Senate negotiators on November 8, 2017. Stay tuned for additional...more
11/16/2017
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Defense Aquistion Regulations ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
E-Commerce ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Goods or Services ,
NDAA ,
OMB ,
Online Distribution ,
Private Sector ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Section 101 ,
Terms and Conditions
"My Administration will follow two simple rules: Buy American, and hire American.” - President Donald J. Trump. -
Fulfilling a prominent campaign promise, today President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) detailing...more
4/19/2017
/ Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Trade Agreements Act ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on the House Floor today that Congress will take direct aim at formally rescinding "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces", also known as the contractor "blacklisting" rule. We have...more
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Oct. 20, 2016, jointly released Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, cautioning employers about...more
10/28/2016
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sherman Act
Late Monday evening, just before the FAR Final Rule and DOL Guidance on the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (FPSWP) were set to take effect, a federal district judge in Texas enjoined the implementation of the...more
10/26/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Blacklist ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. government finalized on Sept. 30, 2016, regulations amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that will affect an estimated 350,000 federal contractors. These new regulations were promulgated as a result of...more
10/17/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
NASA ,
Partnerships ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
S-Corporation ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Liability
On September 30, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Councils issued 10 FAR amendments (nine final and one interim) on a broad range of topics. One rule imposes new risks for contractors with delinquent taxes or...more
10/4/2016
/ Buy American Act ,
Convictions ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
SBA ,
Security ,
Small Business ,
Tax Liability ,
Ukraine ,
Veterans ,
Wage and Hour ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB
On June 13-14, the National 8(a) Association held its annual summer conference in Anchorage, Alaska. The conference included useful programs on a variety of topics of interest to tribal, Alaska Native Corporations (ANC), and...more
6/28/2016
/ 8(a) Program ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Mandatory Disclosure Rules ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Native American Issues ,
SBA ,
Set-Asides ,
Small Business ,
Tribal Governments
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a long-awaited final rule to implement certain small business-related provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA), including key changes in the...more
On May 18, 2016, the Defense Security Service (DSS) issued a much anticipated Change 2 to DoD-5220.22-M, known as the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM). Change 2 requires all contractors that hold...more
The Department of Labor is expected to announce its final rule regarding the white collar overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act at an event in Ohio attended by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Labor...more
Several federal contractors have been in the news recently for potentially engaging in prohibited lobbying activity. Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense Inspector General have been focusing on this...more
The National 8(a) Association 2016 Winter Conference, held in Orlando on Feb. 9-10, provided several useful updates on Small Business Administration (SBA) matters affecting Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs),...more
Although 501(c)(4) organizations have been in the news recently for potentially engaging in too much political activity, it is worth noting that a relatively obscure Senate amendment from 1995 prohibits lobbying by certain...more
On May 28, 2015, the government proposed to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to mandate disclosure by government prime and subcontractors of violations of 15 categories of worker protection laws. The Department...more
6/5/2015
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Guidance ,
Prime Contractor ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Subcontractors
In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." When the hero of the day is a company's compliance program, it's almost a surefire bet that that a tragedy is being written. But at the same...more
KBR, Inc., has agreed to pay a civil money penalty of $130,000 to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that KBR violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, the...more