June 13, 2016
The Seminannual Agenda of Regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DoL) describes the DoL’s plans for implementing the terms of Executive Order (EO) 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, which the President issued on September 7, 2015. According to the Agenda, the DoL’s final rule should be issued in September, and will require executive departments and agencies to…
May 9, 2016
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced a settlement with Asbestos Specialists, Inc. (ASI), a Baltimore-based company that specializes in asbestos removal and demolition in the Washington, D.C. area. ASI has agreed to pay $100,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to resolve a charge of national origin harassment filed with the EEOC and a Department of…
February 16, 2016
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently struck a ringing blow for common-sense, logic and reality in overturning a District Court’s $763,000 damages award in a case involving Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) wage underpayments of only $9,916. United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Construction, LLC, 6th Cir. Case No. 14-6150, decided Feb. 4, 2016. The Court flatly rejected what it…
February 9, 2016
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently announced that a Monterey, California-based translation and interpretation company that does work for the federal government and other clients has agreed to pay $1.47 million in wages and benefits to its nationwide corps of interpreters to resolve federal labor laws violations identified as the result of two separate WHD…
January 4, 2016
Reassess Your Size Status, Update Your DSBS and SAM Listings, Check Your Past Performance Ratings, and Update Your Employment Policies, Handbooks and Postings
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2016.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most…
December 15, 2015
On December 4, 2015, DOD, GSA and NASA adopted a Final Rule, effective immediately, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement (i) President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13672, and (ii) the Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Policy (OFCCP)’s implementing Final Rule (previously discussed here). EO 13672 amends EOs 11246 and 11478 to add…
December 7, 2015
On December 4, 2015, DOD, GSA and NASA adopted a Final Rule, effective immediately, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement (i) President Obama’s Executive Order 13658, establishing a minimum wage for employees working on covered federal contracts and subcontracts, and (ii) the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Final Rule (previously discussed here). The Final Rule…
November 20, 2015
A recently-filed indictment highlights the substantial personal liabilities that a company principal may face if the company fails to pay required minimum wages, and particularly if the company submits false certifications to the Government as to the wages paid. U.S. v. Marcus Butler, N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:15 CR 0415. Specifically, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the…
October 19, 2015
As you no doubt know by now, President Obama issued Executive Order 13658 on February 12, 2014, establishing a $10.10 per hour minimum wage for employees working on covered federal contracts and subcontracts, starting January 1, 2015. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule (previously discussed here) on October 10, 2014, and the FAR Council issued an Interim Rule on December 15, 2014…
October 6, 2015
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit begins its recent decision in Gate Guard Services, L.P. v. Perez, with the truism that “It is often better to acknowledge an obvious mistake than defend it.” The Court continued that “When the government acknowledges mistakes, it preserves public trust and confidence. It can start to repair the damage done by erroneously, indeed…
September 14, 2015
President Obama used Labor Day to announce a new Executive Order mandating up to seven days a year paid sick leave for employees working on covered federal contracts, awarded on or after January 1, 2017. This action continues the President use of Executive Orders to further his political agenda and impose new burdens uniquely on government contractors and subcontractors that he cannot get…
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…
June 13, 2016
The Seminannual Agenda of Regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DoL) describes the DoL’s plans for implementing the terms of Executive Order (EO) 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, which the President issued on September 7, 2015. According to the Agenda, the DoL’s final rule should be issued in September, and will require executive departments and agencies to…
May 9, 2016
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced a settlement with Asbestos Specialists, Inc. (ASI), a Baltimore-based company that specializes in asbestos removal and demolition in the Washington, D.C. area. ASI has agreed to pay $100,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to resolve a charge of national origin harassment filed with the EEOC and a Department of…
February 16, 2016
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently struck a ringing blow for common-sense, logic and reality in overturning a District Court’s $763,000 damages award in a case involving Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) wage underpayments of only $9,916. United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Construction, LLC, 6th Cir. Case No. 14-6150, decided Feb. 4, 2016. The Court flatly rejected what it…
February 9, 2016
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently announced that a Monterey, California-based translation and interpretation company that does work for the federal government and other clients has agreed to pay $1.47 million in wages and benefits to its nationwide corps of interpreters to resolve federal labor laws violations identified as the result of two separate WHD…
January 4, 2016
Reassess Your Size Status, Update Your DSBS and SAM Listings, Check Your Past Performance Ratings, and Update Your Employment Policies, Handbooks and Postings
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2016.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most…
December 15, 2015
On December 4, 2015, DOD, GSA and NASA adopted a Final Rule, effective immediately, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement (i) President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13672, and (ii) the Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Policy (OFCCP)’s implementing Final Rule (previously discussed here). EO 13672 amends EOs 11246 and 11478 to add…
December 7, 2015
On December 4, 2015, DOD, GSA and NASA adopted a Final Rule, effective immediately, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement (i) President Obama’s Executive Order 13658, establishing a minimum wage for employees working on covered federal contracts and subcontracts, and (ii) the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Final Rule (previously discussed here). The Final Rule…
November 20, 2015
A recently-filed indictment highlights the substantial personal liabilities that a company principal may face if the company fails to pay required minimum wages, and particularly if the company submits false certifications to the Government as to the wages paid. U.S. v. Marcus Butler, N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:15 CR 0415. Specifically, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the…
October 19, 2015
As you no doubt know by now, President Obama issued Executive Order 13658 on February 12, 2014, establishing a $10.10 per hour minimum wage for employees working on covered federal contracts and subcontracts, starting January 1, 2015. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule (previously discussed here) on October 10, 2014, and the FAR Council issued an Interim Rule on December 15, 2014…
October 6, 2015
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit begins its recent decision in Gate Guard Services, L.P. v. Perez, with the truism that “It is often better to acknowledge an obvious mistake than defend it.” The Court continued that “When the government acknowledges mistakes, it preserves public trust and confidence. It can start to repair the damage done by erroneously, indeed…
September 14, 2015
President Obama used Labor Day to announce a new Executive Order mandating up to seven days a year paid sick leave for employees working on covered federal contracts, awarded on or after January 1, 2017. This action continues the President use of Executive Orders to further his political agenda and impose new burdens uniquely on government contractors and subcontractors that he cannot get…
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…
