Government Contracts Monitor

Wrongdoing Doesn’t Pay - Civil Penalties, Including for False Claims Act Violations, Keep Going Up – 2017 Inflation Adjustments

January 16, 2017

Most federal civil monetary penalties will increase by an additional 1.636%, rounded to the nearest dollar, for new assessments issued after the effective date of each respective agency’s implementing regulations. This new increase is on top of last year’s huge, one-time, “catch-up” adjustments intended to offset inflation through October 2015, and is the first of what hereafter will be annual…

Short Take: Department of the Treasury Updates Prompt Payment Act Interest Rate

January 10, 2017

The Department of the Treasury has updated the Prompt Payment Act Interest Rate for the first half of calendar year 2017. The new rate has increased from 1.875 percent to 2.5 percent per year. Under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), when prevailing on a monetary contract dispute, a contractor is entitled to recover simple interest, calculated at the applicable rate for every six-month period, on…

Mandatory Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors Takes Effect

January 3, 2017

As Jackson Kelly has previously reported, there is significant uncertainty regarding which of the many Executive Orders signed by President Obama will still be binding after President Trump’s inauguration later this month; but some things will not change, at least in the short term. One of those is the new requirement, from Executive Order 13706, that federal contractors provide paid sick leave…

<center>New Year’s Resolutions, 2017</center>

January 3, 2017

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 2017.

        1.    Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies…

Short Take: New Year, New Regulations—What Contractors Need to Know About Paycheck Transparency

December 20, 2016

Although there is still some uncertainty as to which of President Obama’s many Executive Orders will be implemented once the Trump administration is in place, there are a few regulations that will take effect before the inauguration, and for which contractors therefore need to prepare.  One such requirement, regarding paycheck transparency for government contract employees, is set to take effect…

GAO Bid Protests – FY16 Protest Statistics (Sustains at 22.56% & Overall Effectiveness at 46%) and a Look Ahead

December 20, 2016

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week issued its Annual Report to Congress on bid protests during Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16 (10/1/15-9/30/16)).  As expected, the total number of bid protests filed continued to increase, reaching a new post-2001 high of 2,789 protests – up 6% from FY15 (but still well below the pre-FASA highs in the late 1980s – early 1990s).  GAO closed 2,734 protests…

Short Take: New Contracting Opportunities on GSA Schedule 70

December 14, 2016

Jackson Kelly recently reported on the General Services Administration’s (GSA) solicitation for four new Special Item Numbers (SINs) under GSA’s Schedule 70, which covers IT services. Awards under these new SINs are well underway. GSA has again expanded Schedule 70’s reach, this time by adding Adobe’s data-centric security and electronic signature solutions to Schedule 70. The agency has…

Draft 2017 NDAA: Some Highlights

December 14, 2016

Following months of uncertainty and debate, the House and Senate have both approved the draft 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), funding the Defense Department through the end of fiscal year 2017 (FY17).  The FY17 NDAA contains a number of significant provisions that promise to impact government contractors in significant ways. This article discusses several of them.

Section 217 of the…

Short Take: GAO Issues Report on the Use of Multidisciplinary Teams in IT Procurements

December 6, 2016

GAO recently released a 93 page report on the challenges that federal agencies face in procuring Information Technology (IT). According to the report, the federal government will spend more than $89 billion on IT procurements in Fiscal Year 2017. Where possible, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has urged agencies to develop and use Integrated Procurement Teams (IPTs) to assist in IT…

GAO’s Jurisdiction Over Task Order Protests, Revisited

December 6, 2016

At the beginning of the fiscal year, Jackson Kelly reported on the expiration of GAO’s jurisdiction to hear protests based on task order awards over $10 million by civilian agencies. GAO’s jurisdiction over civilian agency Task Orders was initially conferred in 2008 and reinstated in 2012. In 2012, Congress established a sunset date of September 30, 2016, for GAO’s jurisdiction over these Task…

Don’t Invoice the Government for What You Haven’t Done

November 29, 2016

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with Bechtel National Inc., Bechtel Corp., URS Corp. (predecessor in interest to AECOM Global II LLC) and URS Energy and Construction Inc. (now known as AECOM Energy and Construction Inc.). In the press release, DOJ announced that the contractors have agreed to pay $125 million to resolve allegations under the…

Short Take: Trump Administration Plans May Mean Further Pressure on Many Government Acquisition Professionals

November 15, 2016

In his Contract with the American Voter, President-Elect Trump pledged to immediately pursue, among other things, “a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health).” It remains to be seen whether and to what extent this goal may change during the new administration’s transition into power. But the…