Department of Labor Seeks to Loosen Reins on Restaurant Industry By Rescinding Regulation of Certain Tip Pooling Practices
Earlier this year, in “Restaurant Industry Headed To U.S. Supreme Court Over Tipping Practices”, I wrote about the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) 2011 Regulation related to restaurant tip distribution practices and its journey to the U.S. Supreme Court. The regulation in question announced broadly that “[t]ips are the property of the employee” and “prohibited [employers] from using an employee’s tips . . . for any reason other than . . . [a]s a credit against its minimum wage obligations to . . . Read More
The Land Mines of Unpopulated Joint Ventures
SBA has all but eliminated populated joint ventures (i.e., a joint venture with employees of its own performing direct labor). As a result, companies that want to form a joint venture for set-aside opportunities and not be affiliated with each other need to form an unpopulated joint venture. While SBA’s preference for unpopulated joint ventures is meant to benefit small business venturers and provide them with more hands-on experience, it creates wrinkles for the venturers. 1. Scope of Work When . . . Read More
Your Annual Performance of Work Report Is Due Soon
If your joint venture (“JV”) was awarded an 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, or WOSB set-aside contract in the months following SBA’s July 2016 final rulemaking, you should be getting ready to submit your annual performance of work report (“Annual Report”). The final rule, which became effective at the end of August 2016, amended SBA’s regulations to clarify the conditions for creating and operating JVs. One such condition is to submit the Annual Report to the contracting officer and to SBA, explaining . . . Read More
Happy Cybersecurity New Year
After the ball drops in Times Square this New Year’s Eve, many DoD contractors will wake up with a headache. And we don’t mean from too much champagne. We are talking about extensive DoD cybersecurity requirements these contractors must implement by December 31, 2017. Take this blog and call your PilieroMazza lawyer in the morning. The 12/31/17 deadline has been known since last year and many contractors are surely ahead of the curve. But if you find yourself doing . . . Read More
Why Failing To Intervene In A Bid Protest Could Have Dire Consequences
Imagine that your company has just been awarded a contract after spending significant time and resources identifying a federal business opportunity and developing a winning proposal. Now imagine that just as you are preparing to perform that contract a bid protest is filed by an interested party (e.g., a disappointed competitor). Depending on the facts of the case, you may be inclined to sit back and let the protest play out. No doubt, such a tactic would save the company . . . Read More
What Does a Potential Replacement of the Category Management Circular Mean for Contractors?
Approximately one year ago, we submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) Proposed OMB Circular No. A-XXX, Implementing Category Management for Common Goods and Services . As explained in a blog post discussing the Proposed Circular, if implemented, the Proposed Circular would dramatically change the way the Government purchases common goods and services. “Common goods and services” are “those items and services that all or most federal agencies procure and are not unique to the mission of an individual agency.” Common goods and services represent a significant portion of Government spending. The 2016 Circular aimed to create a Government-wide approach to . . . Read More
GSA Schedule Contractor Team Arrangements: More Than Meets the Eye
You may have heard it suggested that for an upcoming GSA Schedule task order opportunity, the ordering agency “encourages” contractors to form Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA). What does this mean? A CTA is when two or more Schedule contractors combine their Schedule offerings as a “team” to pursue task orders issued under Schedule contracts. In order to participate as a “team member” in the CTA, each team member must maintain its own current GSA Schedule contract and be otherwise . . . Read More
Until It Happens To You: Preventing and Handling Sexual Harassment Claims
For the last several weeks, media outlets have reported on sexual harassment almost constantly. Indeed, the media makes it seem like sexual harassment claims are levied against a new public figure each day. To put this intense dialogue about sexual harassment and sexual assault in perspective, however, one must consider that the media generally only focuses on allegations levied against the most famous and powerful individuals: Hollywood moguls; movie stars; and politicians. But, in reality, the problem persists at every . . . Read More
Can a Captive Insurance Company Help You Keep Your 8(a) Certification?
At the beginning of 2017, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (“PATH”) Act went into effect. One of the changes implemented by the Act altered how small and medium-sized business owners can use captive insurance companies (“CIC”). A CIC is an insurance company that is owned by the business itself either solo or along with other businesses that have the same insurance needs, rather than owned by a third-party provider. The CIC is a favored device of small and medium-sized . . . Read More
GAO Sustain Rate Is Down from 2016, But Still Higher Than Some Recent Years
This week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published its annual report to Congress, detailing statistics on the bid protests filed during the 2017 fiscal year. The number of cases filed with GAO (including protests, supplemental protests, cost claims, and requests for reconsideration) was down 7% from fiscal year 2016. 22% of the cases filed were decided on the merits (meaning GAO issued a decision), and 99 protests were sustained, for a sustain rate of 17% of the cases decided on . . . Read More