Government Contracts MonitorContracting Rules and RegulationsGet What You Need: Final FAR Rule Makes Past Performance More Important Than EverSeptember 10, 2013 Last month, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to change the government’s procedures for recording contractor past performance. Specifically, the changes provide factors for government-wide standardization of past performance evaluations and make reporting more consistent and accurate. The final rule requires contracting officials to enter past performance information… Wrong FAR Clause In Utilities Contract Is Just Water Under The BridgeSeptember 4, 2013 A recent Court of Federal Claims case reminds us that the clauses included in your contract might not actually be the terms governing your arrangement with the Government. And as the Government learned the hard way in Bay County, FL v. United States, No. 11-157C (Fed. Cl. Aug. 14, 2013), this is may even be true when the Government is the party that chose the contract clauses. Bay County,… Short TakesAugust 26, 2013 We previously reported here on the GAO’s June 6, 2013 decision in IBM-U.S. Federal, B-407073.3, in which the GAO sustained two protest grounds raised by IBM challenging the CIA’s $600M commercial cloud services procurement award to Amazon Web Services, Inc. As we noted, the GAO recommended that the CIA reopen the competition and amend the RFP as necessary to ensure that proposals are prepared and… Patent Ambiguity Doctrine Is A Lot Like Obscenity: “I Know It When I See It”August 19, 2013 You are a government contractor. You receive a solicitation. You read it carefully and begin crafting detailed technical and price proposals. You come across a paragraph or two that, when read together, appear inconsistent or even in conflict. What should a government contractor do: try to take advantage of the ambiguity in a post-award bid protest if you don’t… Short TakesAugust 19, 2013 After a long lull, it appears that the regulatory agenda of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is back in full swing. According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the OFCCP recently submitted new affirmative action final rules for veterans and for persons with disabilities to OMB for approval and ultimate publication. The affirmative action rules… Get What You Need: Final FAR Rule Makes Past Performance More Important Than EverAugust 13, 2013 On August 1, 2013, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to change the government’s procedures for recording contractor past performance specifically, to provide factors for government-wide standardization of past performance evaluations and to make reporting more consistent and accurate. The final rule requires contracting officials to enter past performance information into the … Executive Compensation Benchmark Applies To Most Contractor EmployeesJuly 26, 2013 In a series of regulatory actions, the limit on allowable costs for compensation of most contractor employees has been limited to the Executive Compensation Benchmark, a level of allowable compensation traditionally applied only to senior executives. Previously, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy set a $763,029 cap for allowable costs incurred after January 1, 2011 related to senior… SBA’s Final Size and Status Integrity Rule Is More Nuanced but It Still Has TeethJuly 23, 2013 The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued a final rule strengthening penalties for small businesses that misrepresent their size and/or special socioeconomic status. As previously explained here, the proposed rule adopted the aggressive approach manifest in the small business size and status integrity provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. While the new rule largely… New Whistleblower Protections Are Now In Effect For Employees Of Federal Contractors And SubcontractorsJuly 12, 2013 Over the years, Congress has enacted many whistleblower protection statutes aimed at specific industries to encourage employees in those industries to report fraud, waste, and abuse. All federal government contractors – at every level - should be aware of the newest whistleblower protection statute that went into effect on July 1, 2013. The statute, 41 U.S.C. § 4712, applies to all… Avoid the Use of Counterfeit Parts: DOD Proposes New Rules to Make Sure You DoJune 26, 2013 The Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to ensure that contractors are held responsible for detecting and avoiding the use of counterfeit or suspect electronic parts. The overall effect of this rule would be to shift the burden of detecting and avoiding counterfeit parts from the Government to… Department of Labor’s New Guidance On the Davis-Bacon ActJune 20, 2013 Earlier this Spring, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued All Agency Memorandum Number 213 on the Davis Bacon Act announcing a change in how agencies should determine wage rates for additional classifications that are conformed to an existing wage determination. In the past, the Wage and Hour Division generally approved proposed wages for a conformed skilled craft when… Can Affiliates Be Suspended Indefinitely? Stay Tuned: The Eleventh Circuit is About to Tell UsMay 28, 2013 Agility Defense & Government Services, Inc., et al. v. U.S. Department of Defense, a case we have reported on twice before as it winds its way through the judicial system, is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and ready for oral argument. The importance of this case is that it tackles head-on the question of whether the FAR rule permitting a suspension and debarment… |
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