Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses– May 11, 2022

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GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

GSA Awards Blanket Purchase Agreements for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Procurement
The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded new Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), which will make it easier for federal customers to buy the EVSE they need as they electrify the federal fleet. Nine of the 16 offerors receiving awards are small businesses. Read more here.

SBA Budget Request for FY 2023 Seeks to Promote Disadvantaged Businesses
Government Executive reported that Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman told lawmakers the agency’s fiscal year 2023 budget request includes increased funding for programs offering resources and opportunities to women-owned businesses and contractors from traditionally underserved communities, including small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), as part of an effort to address a 40% decline of small business contractors working with the federal government over the past decade. Read more here.

DHS Should Improve Its Oversight of Urgent Noncompetitive Awards, GAO Says
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) clarify when its agencies should revise the documentation for contracts awarded without competition. The report noted that each year DHS acquires billions of dollars of goods and services through noncompetitive contracts awarded in cases of urgent need, such as disaster response. It said DHS agencies did not always document reasons for increases to original contract prices. Read more here.

Upcoming Government Contracts Presentations

WEBINAR: Nuts and Bolts of the SCA, May 12, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

WEBINAR: The Ins and Outs of Recertifications for Government Contractors, May 17, Sam Finnerty. Read more here.

WEBINAR: FAR 52.203-16, Organizational and Personal Conflicts of Interest, May 18, Jackie Unger. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Growth by Acquisition: Important Considerations for Government Contractors, Part 2 of 2, May 18, Cy Alba. Read more here.

EVENT: Basic Requirements for Government Contracting, May 23, Peter Ford. Read more here.

EVENT: Peeps for Keeps: Finding and Managing Talent in a Competitive Job Market, May 24, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Supply Chain Pain: How Government Contractors Can Get Relief for Supply Chain Problems, May 24, Kevin Barnett. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Unlocking the Secrets of Debriefings, Gov’t Evaluation of Proposals and Protests, June 1, Peter Ford and Meghan Leemon. Read more here.

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

Fencing Installation Companies Pay $206,000 in Wages and Damages to 18 Employees to Resolve Overtime, Recordkeeping, and Misclassification Violations
Colony Fence Inc. and Nico Fence CO LLC in White Plains, NY, paid a total of $206,904 in back wages and liquidated damages to 18 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Colony Fence Inc. and Nico Fence also paid $14,520 in civil money penalties due to the willful and repeated nature of their violations. Read more here.

DOL Recovers $94,000 in Back Wages and Damages for 33 Underpaid Employees of Las Vegas Construction Company
The Department of Labor (DOL) recovered $94,112 in back wages and liquidated damages for 33 workers of Design Works Custom Painting Inc., a Las Vegas, NV, construction company that allegedly denied them overtime by misclassifying them as independent contractors. The DOL investigation also found that the employer denied a worker sick leave in violation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Read more here.

GAO Recommends that DOL Improve Sharing of Information about Service Contract Act Violations with Contracting Agencies
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that more than 5,000 Department of Labor (DOL) compliance investigations over six years led to recoveries of more than $220 million in back wages for workers subjected to violations of the Service Contract Act (SCA). The SCA provides pay and benefit standards for service workers—such as security guards and janitors—on covered federal contracts. DOL also determined that 60 contractors should be excluded from receiving new federal contracts for three years, GAO said, but noted that DOL’s inconsistent sharing of key information with contracting agencies increased the risk that excluded contractors might still get contracts. Read more here.

Upcoming Labor & Employment Presentations

WEBINAR: Nuts and Bolts of the SCA, May 12, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

EVENT: Peeps for Keeps: Finding and Managing Talent in a Competitive Job Market, May 24, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION

KCF Technologies, Inc. to Pay $1.2 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Violations
KCF Technologies, Inc., in State College, PA, agreed to pay the United States $1.2 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act. KCF allegedly improperly billed labor time spent on commercial contracts to contracts it had with the Department of the Navy and the Department of the Army between 2016 and 2019. Read more here.