Legal Advisor Newsletter – Second Quarter 2018
Special Issue on Investigations The Mandatory Disclosure Rule: Mitigating Risk When the Requirement for Disclosure Is Not Clear Looking Inward: Internal Investigations of Potential False Claims Act Violations When the Law Comes A Callin’: A “How To” For Responding to Subpoenas and Document Requests Five Tips to Address Employee Complaints and Avoid Liability Cybersecurity Update
Weekly Update Report for April 27, 2018
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Tribal Consultation for Small Business HUBZone Program and Government Contracting Programs and Consolidation of Mentor Protégé Programs and Other Government Contracting Amendments The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is holding a Tribal Consultation meeting in Anchorage, Alaska concerning the regulations governing the 8(a) Business Development program and the HUBZone program. The Tribal Consultation meeting date is Wednesday, may 9, 2018. SBA seeks to reduce unnecessary or excessive regulatory burdens in those programs and to . . . Read More
An Instructive Warning to Contractors of the Need to Understand CDA Requirements
A few months back, my colleague, Michelle Litteken, wrote a blog post titled “ Don’t Get Lost Filing and Prosecuting CDA Claims .” She discussed a decision, Securiforce International America, LLC v. United States , in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a federal contractor was required under the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”) to demand a specific amount of money (called a “sum certain”) in a CDA claim to its Contracting Officer (“CO”) for non-monetary relief if, by granting such relief, the contractor would be entitled to monetary damages. . . . Read More
Twelve PilieroMazza Attorneys Named to the 2018 Super Lawyers List
Pamela Mazza, Tony Franco and Jon Williams have been selected to the 2018 D.C. Super Lawyers list for Government Contracts. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor. Additionally, the following attorneys have been selected to the 2018 Rising Stars List in their listed areas. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor. Isaias “Cy” Alba Government Contracts Washington, . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for April 23, 2018
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE CIVILIAN AND CONTRACTOR WORKFORCES: Department Of Defense’s Cost Comparisons Addressed Most Report Elements but Excluded Some Costs In response to Congressional direction, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a report in April 2018 comparing the costs of federal civilian and service contractor personnel at select installations. The report addressed three out of four provision elements and partially addressed one, as discussed below. DoD concluded that neither federal civilians, nor service contractors were predominately more or less expensive, with costs . . . Read More
Corporate Record-Keeping and Compliance, or “Do I Really Need to Hold a Shareholders’ Meeting If I Am the Only Shareholder?”
When we are asked to review client corporate record-keeping, it is far too often the case that such record-keeping has fallen by the wayside and been overlooked. We understand that, for small businesses and/or entities with only a handful of equity owners, corporate record-keeping can seem a tedious or expensive chore. Some clients have asked “Do I really need to hold a shareholders meeting if I am the only shareholder?” The short answer is, “Yes, you do.” Both corporations and . . . Read More
Multiple-Award Contracts – Path to Growth or Punishment for Success?
Published by Set-Aside Alert Newsletter: Size and status representations for task orders issued under Multiple Award Contracts (MAC) and schedules have become a controversial and complex issue. Generally, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) size rules state that representations made at the time of initial offer are valid throughout the life of a contract. This means that all representations made with respect to a MAC will be valid for each order issued against the contract, unless a contracting officer requests recertification . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for April 13, 2018
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR US Department of Labor reinstates Wage and Hour opinion letters The U.S. Department of Labor will reinstate the issuance of opinion letters, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced on Thursday, April 12. The action allows the department’s Wage and Hour Division to use opinion letters as one of its methods for providing guidance to covered employers and employees. An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Wage and Hour Division of how a particular . . . Read More
The Future is Here: GAO Bid Protests to Be Filed Electronically Starting May 1, 2018
On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a final rule, which, effective May 1, 2018, implements an electronic filing system for bid protests known as the Electronic Protest Docketing System (“EPDS”). Historically, GAO has only accepted protest filings via e-mail, fax, regular mail, or hand delivery. However, in 2014, Congress directed GAO to establish an electronic filing and dissemination system. Thus, the concept for EPDS was born. After years of development, EDPS was taken for a “test drive” . . . Read More
Unlocking the Secrets of Debriefings
Presented by Megan Connor and Julia Di Vito Click here to view the recorded session. Session Description: You just received an unsuccessful offeror notice—now what? Do you have a right to a debrief? Should you file a protest right away? If the agency provides a debriefing, should you push for a debriefing in person, over the phone, or in writing? You may wonder what the agency can tell you about the procurement or when the debriefing will occur. Having a basic understanding . . . Read More