In the wake of increasing cybersecurity threats and incidents, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) amended its Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) in 2015 to issue the 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense...more
On September 30, 2021, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) issued a formal Class Deviation from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), to implement rollout of the President’s Executive Order 14042, Ensuring...more
10/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safety Programs ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Last year at this time, we reported on the prospect of a partial government shutdown due to Congress’s failure to enact appropriations legislation to fund all aspects of the government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. In that case,...more
10/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Tax Reform ,
Vaccinations
On September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued its hotly anticipated workplace safety guidelines as required by Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors....more
9/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As reported in an earlier alert and blog, on September 9, 2021, President Biden rolled out his Path Out of the Pandemic plan (the “Plan”) to combat the spread of COVID-19. ...more
9/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 9, 2021, President Biden rolled out his Path Out of the Pandemic plan (the “Plan”) to combat the spread of COVID-19. As reported in an earlier alert, this Plan contains a number of moving parts and coverage that...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Essential Workers ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Service Contract Act ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Published on June 9, 2021, President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting America’s Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries is the latest Executive Order seeking to strengthen national security by improving public and...more
6/24/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Connected Items ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Information Technology ,
Mobile Apps ,
National Security ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PHI ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Software ,
TikTok
Previously we reported on President Trump’s Executive Orders banning U.S. nationals’ investment in designated Chinese companies that pose a threat to our national security under the International Emergency Economic Powers...more
6/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defense Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain
If you live on the East Coast and tried to get gasoline last week, you already know firsthand of the impacts that a cyber incident can wreck on the supply chain. As a result of the Colonial Pipeline cyber incident, a...more
The Remedy of Divestiture: Steves and Sons, Inc. v. JELD-WEN, Inc.
For what is believed to be the first time ever, a private plaintiff successfully challenged an already consummated merger under antitrust law and won...more
Numerous pieces of legislation and regulation have been issued in recent years to address the increased threats to the supply chain. We previously reported on the various aspects of the Section 889 ban on the Government and...more
Recent weeks have brought news on multiple fronts regarding supply chain risks and actions in response thereto:
Commerce ICTS Regulations to Go Into Effect; Chinese ICTS Companies, Products and Services in the...more
3/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
FCC ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Internet of Things ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications
If you don’t know about SolarWinds, then you haven’t been reading the news for the past six months. Last October 2020, it was reported that a widely-used networking tool that helps companies in the public and private sectors...more
Previously we reported on the various types of loan relief available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27, 2020....more
President Biden entered office on January 20, 2021, without the usual parades, inaugural balls, and so forth that are the hallmarks of the establishment of a new administration. Typically only a few Executive Orders are...more
1/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Census ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
LGBTQ ,
Masks ,
Military Service Members ,
Popular ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Supply Chain ,
Travel Ban
As government contractors, you have been caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand, you have been required to continue to perform your government contracts to ensure the safety and...more
Pre-award protests can be tricky. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has jurisdiction to hear timely bid protests by interested parties regarding violations of procurement law or regulation. Under GAO rules, a...more
1/8/2021
/ Bid Protests ,
Bid Solicitation ,
Business Development ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Filing Requirements ,
GAO ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
SBA ,
Small Business
The Government has many rules regarding the protection of data. Government contractors must understand these rules and the importance of timely and properly marking data that they own or develop in performance of a government...more
12/23/2020
/ Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ,
Boeing ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Copyright ,
Data Protection ,
Data Rights ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Proprietary Information ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
US Air Force
As a preface to this blog, I recently gave a presentation with Nate Picarsic and Emily de la Bruyere at the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section Fall Procurement Symposium on “China’s Military-Civil Fusion...more
11/24/2020
/ China ,
Defense Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Transactions ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
The Contract Disputes Act (CDA) governs claims under FAR-based Government contracts. More than forty years after its enactment in 1978, we are apparently still not all in agreement as to when the time for filing a claim has...more
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020 and Congress responded with legislation to provide a variety of forms of relief to small and large businesses and nonprofits, as well as individuals....more
10/22/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Loans ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
SIGPR
It’s September 24, 2020, and the 2020 fiscal year ends at the stroke of midnight on September 30th. Back in July, the House and Senate had passed their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for...more
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Advisory Board (CMMC AB) made a major announcement on September 16, 2020, announcing that it has trained an initial group of provisional assessors....more
The saga of what is prohibited and what is covered by an exception to the National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2019, Section 889 prohibition on the use or delivery of covered telecommunications and video surveillance...more
9/3/2020
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
NASA ,
NDAA ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Supply Chain ,
Surveillance ,
Telecommunications
Government contractors have been closely watching developments in the implementation of Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019, which bans government contractors’ use and provision of...more
8/17/2020
/ China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Huawei ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
National Intelligence Agencies ,
NDAA ,
Supply Chain ,
Surveillance ,
Telecommunications