June 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…
June 25, 2013
On June 12, 2013, Congress heard testimony on the state of the federal government’s suspension and debarment system. What it heard may mean trouble ahead.
John Neumann, GAO’s Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, was one of the individuals who testified. His testimony was a follow-up to two reports issued by GAO, in 2011 and 2012, regarding (i) agency underuse of suspension…
June 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…
June 18, 2013
As we previously reported here, the Federal Government has a procurement preference program for biobased products called BioPreferred. On June 11, 2013, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated eight new categories of products that qualify for this program. They are: aircraft and boat cleaners, automotive care products, engine crankcase oil, gasoline fuel additives, metal cleaners and…
June 17, 2013
Congratulations! Your company just won a significant, best value procurement, beating out the incumbent and others based primarily on low price. However, the disappointed incumbent has protested the award, creating a not uncommon good news/bad news scenario. The good news is that you believe the protest is either untimely or otherwise without merit. The bad news is that the agency has decided to…
June 14, 2013
While it failed to fully resolve the matter at hand, the recent decision in CAE USA, Inc., ASBCA No. 58006 (May 23, 2013), promises a future answer to the question as to whether a Contracting Officer must supply not only the predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but also full information as to the application and accrual of wages and fringe benefits.
The case involved an…
June 11, 2013
Teaming Agreements are an everyday occurrence in federal government contracting. Contractors typically enter into teaming agreements to formalize their relationship while pursuing a federal contract. If a federal contract is awarded to the lead contractor, the normal expectation is that the parties will then perform the work according to mutually acceptable terms. The big question…
June 10, 2013
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”) is currently reviewing its regulations governing the VA’s Veteran-Owned Small Business (“VOSB”) Program, and is inviting comments, by July 12, 2013, as to “any issue related to improving these specific regulations and the program.” See Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”), VA…
June 7, 2013
Legislation recently introduced in the House of Representatives proposes a new bid evaluation method called “fixed-price technical competition.” Under this method, the solicitation would pre-set the award price based on the government’s independent cost estimate, leaving offerors to distinguish themselves based on non-price factors alone, such as technical differences and past…
June 5, 2013
It has recently come to our attention that contractors, as well as some agencies, may not realize that an 8(a) mentor-protégé joint venture (“JV”) can bid as an 8(a) entity, on an 8(a) contract, without the JV itself being 8(a) certified. The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) controls the 8(a) program and 8(a) eligibility status, but SBA “does not certify joint ventures as section 8(a)…
June 4, 2013
In a recent article by Joe Jordan, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Obama Administration announced it will be sending to Congress a legislative proposal to cap reimbursement for government contractor executive compensation. Jordan wrote that under current law, contractors can seek reimbursement for executive salaries, bonuses and other compensation up to the…
June 3, 2013
Over the last several years, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has become much more aggressive in how it investigates and prosecutes worker misclassification, Service Contract Act (“SCA”), Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”), and Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) issues. Government contractors, as well as private sector employers without government contracts, should take note of…
June 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…
June 25, 2013
On June 12, 2013, Congress heard testimony on the state of the federal government’s suspension and debarment system. What it heard may mean trouble ahead.
John Neumann, GAO’s Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, was one of the individuals who testified. His testimony was a follow-up to two reports issued by GAO, in 2011 and 2012, regarding (i) agency underuse of suspension…
June 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…
June 18, 2013
As we previously reported here, the Federal Government has a procurement preference program for biobased products called BioPreferred. On June 11, 2013, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated eight new categories of products that qualify for this program. They are: aircraft and boat cleaners, automotive care products, engine crankcase oil, gasoline fuel additives, metal cleaners and…
June 17, 2013
Congratulations! Your company just won a significant, best value procurement, beating out the incumbent and others based primarily on low price. However, the disappointed incumbent has protested the award, creating a not uncommon good news/bad news scenario. The good news is that you believe the protest is either untimely or otherwise without merit. The bad news is that the agency has decided to…
June 14, 2013
While it failed to fully resolve the matter at hand, the recent decision in CAE USA, Inc., ASBCA No. 58006 (May 23, 2013), promises a future answer to the question as to whether a Contracting Officer must supply not only the predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but also full information as to the application and accrual of wages and fringe benefits.
The case involved an…
June 11, 2013
Teaming Agreements are an everyday occurrence in federal government contracting. Contractors typically enter into teaming agreements to formalize their relationship while pursuing a federal contract. If a federal contract is awarded to the lead contractor, the normal expectation is that the parties will then perform the work according to mutually acceptable terms. The big question…
June 10, 2013
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”) is currently reviewing its regulations governing the VA’s Veteran-Owned Small Business (“VOSB”) Program, and is inviting comments, by July 12, 2013, as to “any issue related to improving these specific regulations and the program.” See Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”), VA…
June 7, 2013
Legislation recently introduced in the House of Representatives proposes a new bid evaluation method called “fixed-price technical competition.” Under this method, the solicitation would pre-set the award price based on the government’s independent cost estimate, leaving offerors to distinguish themselves based on non-price factors alone, such as technical differences and past…
June 5, 2013
It has recently come to our attention that contractors, as well as some agencies, may not realize that an 8(a) mentor-protégé joint venture (“JV”) can bid as an 8(a) entity, on an 8(a) contract, without the JV itself being 8(a) certified. The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) controls the 8(a) program and 8(a) eligibility status, but SBA “does not certify joint ventures as section 8(a)…
June 4, 2013
In a recent article by Joe Jordan, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Obama Administration announced it will be sending to Congress a legislative proposal to cap reimbursement for government contractor executive compensation. Jordan wrote that under current law, contractors can seek reimbursement for executive salaries, bonuses and other compensation up to the…
June 3, 2013
Over the last several years, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has become much more aggressive in how it investigates and prosecutes worker misclassification, Service Contract Act (“SCA”), Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”), and Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) issues. Government contractors, as well as private sector employers without government contracts, should take note of…
