Government Contracts MonitorRegulations (FAR, DFARS and others)Debriefings Get Even Better …. At Least With the Department of DefenseMarch 22, 2022 As most of our readers know, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) has long provided a right to a post-award debriefing for both successful and unsuccessful offerors. FAR 15.506(b). On March 18, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a FINAL RULE: (i) to enhance this post-award debriefing right for competitively awarded contracts, task orders, and delivery orders that exceed $10… Buy American Changes Yet AgainMarch 8, 2022 March 7, 2022, marked the publication of yet another final rule implementing changes to “Buy American” requirements for federal contractors. Final BAA Rule. There are very few surprises in this rule, largely because it closely tracks the proposed rule published last July. That said, the final rule significantly changes FAR Part 25 – the regulations implementing the Buy American Act (BAA). First,… More "Robust" Buy American Changes On The WayAugust 20, 2021 On July 30, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a Proposed Rule touted as “the most robust changes to the implementation of the Buy American Act in almost 70 years.” The stated purpose of the rule is to strengthen domestic content requirements and procurement preferences. This rule is the latest in a series of actions by the Biden Administration to reduce reliance on critical components of… FAR Council Strengthens Buy American RulesJanuary 29, 2021 While all eyes seem to be on President Biden’s January 25, 2021 Executive Order Strengthening Buy American rules and goals, many have overlooked the January 19, 2021 final rule issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council that makes significant changes to long-standing rules under the Buy American Act. This rule strengthens domestic preferences under the Buy American statute by… Covered Government Contracts Minimum Wage Increases to $10.80, Effective January 1, 2020October 17, 2019 The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published a Notice [84 Fed. Reg. 49345 (9/19/19)] announcing that, effective January 1, 2020, the minimum hourly wage rate required to be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts, per Executive Order 13658, will increase from the present $10.60 to $10.80. The minimum hourly tipped wage will increase from $7.40 to… BYE BYE DUNS - HELLO SAMMIMay 1, 2019 Last month the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a $41 million, five-year contract to Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to replace Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) as the contractor supplying entity validation services – the well-known, long-standing Data Universal Number System (DUNS). All federal agencies and federal contractors (and grant recipients) – everyone doing any kind of business with the… Exemption 4: Protection of Confidential Information - The Ground May be ShiftingApril 10, 2019 The Supreme Court recently granted a petition for writ of certiorari over (that is, agreed to review) an Eight Circuit decision involving Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). What is Exemption 4? It is the exemption that protects from public disclosure “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.” Why is this… China's Continuing ThreatApril 3, 2019 Pentagon leaders have been speaking out, increasingly, regarding the risks to U.S. military operations created if and when Chinese technology is used in any military related 5G wireless telecommunications networks. Specifically, officials (former and current) are warning that using Chinese firms (for example, Huawei) to outfit military networks creates a high risk ... indeed a probability ... of… GAO Sustains Limiting the Number of Projects Allocable to a Large Business Mentor's Experience, but Rejects Treating a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture Differently than a Prime/Subcontractor Contractor Teaming AgreementMarch 17, 2019 One of the principal advantages of an approved Mentor/Protégé Agreement (MPA) is that the Mentor and Protégé can enter into a joint venture (JV) that can compete as small for any contract for which the Protégé would be eligible (see, e.g., 13 C.F.R. § 125.109(d)(1)). In turn, one of the principal advantages of a JV - now enshrined in statute and regulation - is that in evaluating experience and… Hopewell Darneille to Present at DYNET 2019, Fairmont, WV -- April 11, 2019March 17, 2019 Hopewell Darneille, of the Firm’s Washington, DC office, will be a presenter at the 10th annual Dynamic Networking for Small Business (DYNET) Conference, a federal and prime contracting event in Fairmont, West Virginia, on April 11, 2019 at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center. Mr. Darneille will co-present a Workshop on “Negotiating and Drafting a Compliant and Workable Joint Venture Agreement… A Preference for U.S. Goods and Services: Buy American Receives A Booster ShotFebruary 24, 2019 On January 31, 2019 President Trump signed yet another Executive Order addressing Buy American issues: Buy American, Hire American [here]. This Order requires that federal agencies purchase U.S. goods and services in any and all infrastructure projects including, interestingly, cybersecurity projects. Among other things, this recent Order underscores the Trump Administration’s policy of enforcing… Rare DOL Nondisplacement Decision Holds that Incumbent's Certified Employee List Is Not Determinative, and Awardee Must Consider Agency's "Credible Evidence" as to Incumbent Employee's Qualifications and First Refusal Offer EntitlementFebruary 14, 2019 Every awardee under qualifying federal government service contracts faces difficult issues and choices under Executive Order 13495, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers under Service Contracts,” and the implementing Department of Labor (DOL) Regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 9, which require awardees to offer incumbent employees “a right of first refusal for employment under the contract in… |
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