Government Contracts Monitor

Timing Is Everything When Considering Service Contract Act Price Adjustments Based on CBAs

July 5, 2016

Although it may seem unusual, when an agency exercises an option on a contract incorporating the Service Contract Act (SCA), the option is considered a successor contract for the purposes of applying the SCA provisions. In other words, the contractor becomes its own successor, which in some cases may entitle it to a contract price adjustment for increased wages and fringe benefits. As the CBCA…

Options are Options

June 5, 2016

In the often complicated context of government contracting, it can sometimes be easy to forget basic principles. For example, a contractor awarded a contract with a base period and option years knows that the government’s exercise of the option years is not guaranteed. Still, barring a performance issue, such options are overwhelmingly exercised. Many contractors count on this practical reality…

Proposal Costs: Grabbing the Brass Ring at GAO

May 23, 2016

A protest sustained on its merits is always good news for a contractor, and often is accompanied by an award of the costs to pursue the protest. Occasionally, however, a contractor will achieve an even bigger win:  not only seeing its protest sustained and recouping its protest costs, but also winning award of its proposal preparation costs.  The recent Government Accountability…

Deemed Denials: Contracting Officers Also Must Comply Strictly with Contract Disputes Act Timeliness Requirements

March 7, 2016

As we have discussed, contractors must pay careful attention to, and comply strictly with, timeliness and related submission requirements, whether in the claims or bid protests context. This is not a one-way street, however.  Government contracting officers also must comply strictly with such requirements.  The equal application of these principles is reflected in two recent decisions…

Your Name has to be on the Dance Card: Only a Real Party in Interest Can File

September 8, 2015

There are so many things a contractor must keep in mind when preparing a claim against the Government that it can sometimes be easy to forget about the fundamentals. One thing you should be careful not to forget, however, is making sure you are a real party in interest. One company recently learned this lesson the hard way, via the decision in Ground Improvement Techniques, Inc.; MK Ferguson…

Starry Starry Night - Successful Protest of Evaluation

August 31, 2015

Starry Associates, Inc. (Starry) successfully protested a task order issued to Intellizant, LLC, arguing that the agency unreasonably evaluated Intellizant’s quote under the RFQ’s technical acceptability factor because Intellizant lacks qualified personnel necessary to perform the PWS tasks and because Intellizant failed to demonstrate how it would provide the staff necessary to perform the…

Short Take: Higher Ed Isn’t Above the Law

July 20, 2015

Education Affiliates (EA), a for-profit company providing post-secondary professional training at fifty campuses, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $13 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act.  The settlement resolves five lawsuits, all of which arose from EA’s allegedly false claims to the Department of Education (ED) for federal financial aid.

According to ED, in order to…

Some Is Better Than None: Even A Partial Win May Get You A Piece Of Your Fees

July 13, 2015

The recent decision, J.M. Carranza Trucking Co. v. United States Postal Service, PSBCA Nos. 6354, 6367, 6373, 6421 and 6422 (June. 3, 2015), reminds us that even if a contractor does not win on every argument, it can still recover attorney fees and expenses for the portion of its dispute upon which it does prevail.  It also serves as a reminder that it is important to keep detailed records…

Government Property: Don’t Sell What’s Not Yours!

June 22, 2015

A recent decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) provides a reminder to contractors that the Government owns equipment for which it pays the contractor, and the contractor cannot sell or otherwise dispose of that equipment without the Government’s express consent.  Moreover, if the contractor nevertheless sells the equipment without such consent and direction, the…

Good Faith And Fair Dealing -- The Government’s Implied Duty Is Alive and Well

May 22, 2015

Mansoor was awarded a contract to provide trucking services in Afghanistan.  Nine months into the performance period the Army terminated Mansoor’s contract for default.  Mansoor then submitted a certified claim for invoices the government had refused to pay.  The Army offered to pay Mansoor a portion of its claim but, following the exchange of several counteroffers, decided the…

Confined Spaces Standard for the Construction Industry

May 18, 2015

On May 4, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration  released the long-awaited Confined Spaces Standard for the construction industry.  Please read Jackson Kelly's Occupational Safety & Health Practice Group's full alert on this standard.

Subcontractors: Don’t Rely on Government Assurances!

March 30, 2015

A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) highlights the very substantial risks that subcontractors run in continuing performance under a financially troubled prime contract based upon government urgings and assurances of indirect payment for further services, as well as the difficulties faced by a subcontractor seeking to hold the…