July 26, 2018
Unequal access to competitively useful, non-public information can give contractors an unfair advantage in the procurement process. Accordingly, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires contracting officers to identify and evaluate potential “unequal access” organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) and directs agencies to avoid or mitigate potential conflicts. Following this…
November 30, 2015
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently was called upon, for the first time, to consider circumstances where an agency knowingly failed to investigate and resolve whether an agency employee who actively engaged in procurement-related activities should have been recused from those activities due to an apparent conflict of interest arising from the employee’s prior employment by the…
January 12, 2015
Beware the revolving door. It can hit you or those with you on the way in or the way out. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reminded us of this fact when it sustained a protest by International Resources Group (IRG) regarding an organizational conflict of interest. The problem? The Agency (USAID) failed to properly investigate the awardee AECOM’s hiring of a…
December 2, 2014
Two years after a report critical of how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addresses potential conflicts of interest (COIs) when choosing Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), the chickens are finally coming home to roost – with extreme prejudice. In July 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report…
November 4, 2014
A 54-year old Virginia executive, Mark Farmer, was indicted in October for allegedly providing things of value to the former director of two Ohio Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. The alleged quid pro quo was that, in exchange for these items of value, the VA director provided confidential information to Farmer about various VA construction projects. The charges in the…
April 29, 2014
On April 2, 2014, the FAR Councils issued a proposed rule implementing a section of the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by expanding the limitations on contractor employee personal conflicts of interest to apply to contractor employees performing all functions that are closely associated with inherently governmental functions(not just acquisition functions) and to contracts for…
March 19, 2014
The Government Contracts Monitor frequently addresses cases involving conflict of interests pertaining to government contractors. A recent case demonstrates that lawyers, and even judges, can also be involved in conflict of interest allegations related to procurements.
On February 6, 2014, the District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (“BEGA”) filed a…
December 11, 2013
Federal employees play an important role in preserving the integrity of Government contracting and assuring fair treatment of contractors. In this regard, violations of ethics rules can trigger bid protests and result in administrative, civil or even criminal penalties.
Among the behaviors that can be challenged are conflicts of interest, including circumstances that could call a government…
November 22, 2013
A Justice Department investigation into a conflict of interest involving the former CFO of USAID, David Ostermeyer, was recently resolved with a civil penalty. The investigation focused on an allegation of a “wired contract” that Ostermeyer allegedly helped USAID draft so he could apply for the position after his retirement. According to the DOJ’s press release, “in an…
September 24, 2013
A conflict of interest is a personal interest or relationship that is at odds with the faithful performance of an official duty. With respect to federal procurement activities, there are numerous statutes and regulations governing official’s behavior in order to avoid such conflicts. As the Supreme Court has stated, these conflict of interest laws “attempt to prevent honest government…
September 6, 2011
During the procurement under protest in PCCP Constructors, JV; Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation, B-405036(August 4, 2011), a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Chief retired and began employment with the company ultimately selected for the award – CBY. At the time of his retirement, the Chief held the most senior civilian position within the Corps’ Hurricane Program – the program with…
September 6, 2011
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the Court of Federal Claims’ (CFC’s) decision regarding an organizational conflict of interest (OCI). In Turner Construction Co., Inc. v. United States, 2010-5146 (July 14, 2011), Turner had been awarded a construction contract by the Army that was protested based on alleged OCIs arising from merger discussions between Turner’s…
July 26, 2018
Unequal access to competitively useful, non-public information can give contractors an unfair advantage in the procurement process. Accordingly, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires contracting officers to identify and evaluate potential “unequal access” organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) and directs agencies to avoid or mitigate potential conflicts. Following this…
November 30, 2015
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently was called upon, for the first time, to consider circumstances where an agency knowingly failed to investigate and resolve whether an agency employee who actively engaged in procurement-related activities should have been recused from those activities due to an apparent conflict of interest arising from the employee’s prior employment by the…
January 12, 2015
Beware the revolving door. It can hit you or those with you on the way in or the way out. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reminded us of this fact when it sustained a protest by International Resources Group (IRG) regarding an organizational conflict of interest. The problem? The Agency (USAID) failed to properly investigate the awardee AECOM’s hiring of a…
December 2, 2014
Two years after a report critical of how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addresses potential conflicts of interest (COIs) when choosing Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), the chickens are finally coming home to roost – with extreme prejudice. In July 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report…
November 4, 2014
A 54-year old Virginia executive, Mark Farmer, was indicted in October for allegedly providing things of value to the former director of two Ohio Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers. The alleged quid pro quo was that, in exchange for these items of value, the VA director provided confidential information to Farmer about various VA construction projects. The charges in the…
April 29, 2014
On April 2, 2014, the FAR Councils issued a proposed rule implementing a section of the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by expanding the limitations on contractor employee personal conflicts of interest to apply to contractor employees performing all functions that are closely associated with inherently governmental functions(not just acquisition functions) and to contracts for…
March 19, 2014
The Government Contracts Monitor frequently addresses cases involving conflict of interests pertaining to government contractors. A recent case demonstrates that lawyers, and even judges, can also be involved in conflict of interest allegations related to procurements.
On February 6, 2014, the District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (“BEGA”) filed a…
December 11, 2013
Federal employees play an important role in preserving the integrity of Government contracting and assuring fair treatment of contractors. In this regard, violations of ethics rules can trigger bid protests and result in administrative, civil or even criminal penalties.
Among the behaviors that can be challenged are conflicts of interest, including circumstances that could call a government…
November 22, 2013
A Justice Department investigation into a conflict of interest involving the former CFO of USAID, David Ostermeyer, was recently resolved with a civil penalty. The investigation focused on an allegation of a “wired contract” that Ostermeyer allegedly helped USAID draft so he could apply for the position after his retirement. According to the DOJ’s press release, “in an…
September 24, 2013
A conflict of interest is a personal interest or relationship that is at odds with the faithful performance of an official duty. With respect to federal procurement activities, there are numerous statutes and regulations governing official’s behavior in order to avoid such conflicts. As the Supreme Court has stated, these conflict of interest laws “attempt to prevent honest government…
September 6, 2011
During the procurement under protest in PCCP Constructors, JV; Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation, B-405036(August 4, 2011), a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Chief retired and began employment with the company ultimately selected for the award – CBY. At the time of his retirement, the Chief held the most senior civilian position within the Corps’ Hurricane Program – the program with…
September 6, 2011
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the Court of Federal Claims’ (CFC’s) decision regarding an organizational conflict of interest (OCI). In Turner Construction Co., Inc. v. United States, 2010-5146 (July 14, 2011), Turner had been awarded a construction contract by the Army that was protested based on alleged OCIs arising from merger discussions between Turner’s…
