ANNAPOLIS, MD, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019: PilieroMazza –a business law firm serving as a strategic partner to government contractors and commercial businesses–is pleased to announce its expansion into Annapolis, Maryland. Managing Partner, Pamela Mazza , remarked, “With its proximity to the greater Baltimore/Annapolis business communities, Ft. Meade, US Cyber Command, and NSA, we are excited about the opportunities the Annapolis office will bring.” Residing in the Annapolis office will be Kathryn Hickey, a Partner and Practice Chair of the Firm’s Business & Transactions Group , who said “The new Maryland . . . Read More
In a recent blog , we discussed the “late is late” rule in government contracting which has been the cause of many protests and much consternation among government contractors. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) have consistently held that it is proper for an agency to reject a late offer, even if the offer is only slightly late. Recently, COFC applied this rule to a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule purchase—specifically in Criterion Systems, . . . Read More
With the end of the fiscal year approaching and the frequency of contract awards increasing, many government contractors will be focusing on post-award debriefings. The Department of Defense (DOD) implemented enhanced post-award debriefings last year, and contractors often have questions about the process. Below are five things contractors should know about enhanced debriefings, which can be beneficial to a government contractor before becoming involved in a bid protest. Enhanced debriefings are limited to DOD agencies. Civilian agency debriefings have not changed . . . Read More
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES Small Business Administration – SBA issued a rule extending the 504 Loan Program Rural Initiative Pilot Program (504 Rural Pilot) through September 30, 2021. The 504 Rural Pilot authorizes Certified Development Companies to make 504 loans for projects in rural counties located in their SBA Region. Read more here . Congressional Research Service – CRS has released a report examining the SBA’s veteran . . . Read More
The Fourth Circuit case Williams v. Big Picture Loans [1] is being hailed as a major victory for Native American sovereign immunity rights. For entities owned by Native American tribes, the case stands as an important ruling for determining arm-of-the-tribe sovereign immunity. The case may be appealed to the Supreme Court. Background The Lac Vieux Desert Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (the Tribe) formed two business entities under tribal law: Big Picture Loans, LLC, to serve as an independent lending entity . . . Read More
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has settled and obtained judgments in excess of $2.8 billion for false claims against the government last year. Over $2.1 billion of these cases arose from lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA) which incentivizes whistleblowers to file claims. Government contractors in the construction industry – both primes and subs – face a higher risk of FCA liability because of the complicated nature of construction contracts and prevailing wage obligations. Below we . . . Read More
Government contractors are required to comply with a new set of prohibitions on telecommunications equipment acquired from certain Chinese companies, and they may face False Claims Act liability since the prohibitions require certification that they have not used prohibited products. These prohibitions come from the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019,* which contains a number of provisions intended to keep U.S. government funds from moving to Chinese government-owned corporations. Section 889 in particular lists companies the Chinese . . . Read More
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES GAO Defers to SBA on When Runway Extension Act Applies, August 20, 2019, Emily Rouleau Last year, Congress passed—and President Trump signed—the Small Business Runway Extension Act (the “Runway Extension Act” or the “Act”), which changed the time period for determining a company’s size based on average annual receipts from the previous three years to the previous five years. This summer, the . . . Read More
Everywhere you look companies are being hit hard with claims of misclassification of workers under labor regulations. So far in August 2019, Department of Labor (DOL) has announced over $2 Million in damages paid to employees, and this doesn’t even include voluntary settlements handled outside of DOL. In fact, General Dynamics was recently hit with a $170,000 settlement regarding claims that the company misclassified call center workers under the Service Contract Act (SCA). To avoid such penalties and to remain legally compliant, . . . Read More
