Fair Pay Safe Workplaces Halted But Not Dead
On October 24, on the eve of its implementation, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide order halting the implementation of the bulk of Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay Safe Workplaces, which imposes new reporting requirements on government contractors regarding labor law violations and prohibits them from entering into pre-dispute arbitration agreements for matters arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and for torts based on sexual assault or harassment. Under the . . . Read More
Non-Commercial Computer Software Rights and Government Misconceptions About What It Buys
This article is the third installment in a series on Data Rights in Federal Contracts. We first wrote about what data rights were ; then about technical data and how to protect it ; and now we will discuss ownership, license rights, and the protection of rights in non-commercial computer software. Because non-commercial computer software is treated like non-commercial data under the FAR (a topic discussed at length in the prior installment of this series), we will focus now on how non-commercial software is treated under the DFARS. That said, the general principles discussed . . . Read More
Take Note of This Law Regarding Small Business Offerors Under Multiple Award Contracts
By Julia Di Vito The National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2016, which went into effect on November 25, 2015, contains some requirements regarding multiple award contracts that you might not know about. The 2016 NDAA amended part of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. § 644(q), which governs the award of contracts by the Federal Government. This statute, as amended, now requires that for any multiple award contract above the “substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency,” the agency . . . Read More
Expiration of GAO’s Jurisdiction of Civilian Agency Task Order Protests Limits Government Contractor Options
As of October 1, the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (“GAO”) jurisdiction over protests on civilian agency task orders valued at more than $10 million expired, leaving government contractors with limited grounds for protesting such task order awards. In 1994, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (“FASA”) was enacted in response to concerns that the federal procurement process was too cumbersome and complicated. One of the FASA reforms included a limitation on contractors’ ability to protest the issuance of task order awards, . . . Read More
More Work Needed to Improve the HUBZone Program
The HUBZone Program needs some TLC. After a peak of 14,000 SBA-certified participants in 2009, the HUBZone Program has seen a significant drop in participation over the past few years due to various factors. This, in turn, has led to a marked downturn in federal spending on HUBZone firms, while other set-aside categories have consistently met or exceeded the federal spending goals. In a 2015 report, GAO recommended ways for SBA to improve HUBZone Program oversight as well as communication . . . Read More
Employer Potentially Responsible for Employee’s Shooting Rampage
By Corey Argust What Kind of Risk Might Employers Face Because of an Employee’s (Unexpected) Behavior? On September 15, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia allowed claims of negligent supervision and retention to proceed against the government contractors who employed the person responsible for the 2013 mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. DeLorenzo v. HP Enterprise Services, LLC, et al., Case 1:15-cv-00216-RMC (D.D.C. Sept. 15, 2016). In denying motions to dismiss the claims of negligent supervision . . . Read More
Category Management: What Contractors Need To Know
By Michelle Litteken Published in Law360 on September 14, 2016. In December 2014, the Office of Management and Budget announced a new initiative called Category Management, a successor to the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (“FSSI”) that was implemented in 2010. This policy could dramatically change the way the federal government purchases goods and services and the competitive landscape that government contractors face. Category Management has three primary goals: increasing savings, reducing the number of new contracts, and increasing the amount . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Recently Submitted Testimony to the House Small Business Committee Regarding the HUBZone Program
Our law firm represents numerous small businesses operating across the government contracting spectrum, including many businesses that participate in the HUBZone program. We are strong proponents of the HUBZone program and its important and unique place among the federal government’s small business set-aside programs. In representing many HUBZone firms, we have seen first-hand how HUBZone firms benefit from participation in the HUBZone program and, in turn, provide positive impact and many benefits to the people living in underserved communities. However, we have also seen first-hand the . . . Read More
What You Need to Know About Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order Implementation
The Federal Acquisition Regulation and related Department of Labor Guidance required to implement Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, were published on August 25, 2016 (Final Rule and Guidance). With over 200 pages of implementing regulations, many contractors are finding it difficult to determine what they need to know now to be prepared for its implementation. After all, contractors will be required to report violations of over 14 labor laws during the proposal process and on SAM, track . . . Read More
Recent Changes to the 8(a) Program Application Process
“They’re asking for what?” This is a not-so-uncommon response from small businesses applying to SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program (“8(a) Program”), which is notorious for the amount of information – and paper – that applicants are required to provide SBA to demonstrate eligibility. However, a recent SBA final rulemaking implemented changes to the 8(a) Program application process to eliminate certain requirements which, according to SBA, impose an unnecessary burden on program applicants. For example, SBA has done away with the . . . Read More