On May 28, 2015, the Defense Department, General Services Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s proposed rule to implement Executive Order 13673 “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” (EO), dated July 31, 2014. Together with the proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed guidance (collectively, “Proposed Rules”), defining many terms set forth in the EO and beginning to establish a framework of expectations. PilieroMazza addressed the requirements of the . . . Read More
If you have been paying attention to the headlines, you might have noticed that a lot has been happening in the labor and employment world recently. Here are our top 5: The Supreme Court Saves the Affordable Care Act … Again: On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court held that the Affordable Care Act (‘ACA”) may provide nationwide tax subsidies for qualifying individuals to purchase health insurance. In King v. Burwell was a challenge to a fundamental component of the . . . Read More
We are writing to submit comments on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) above-referenced proposed rule, issued May 1, 2015, 80 Fed. Reg. 24,846. Our firm represents small businesses, including women-owned and economically-disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (“WOSBs/EDWOSBs”), operating across the government contracting spectrum. Many of the WOSBs/EDWOSBs we represent and have talked to have been eagerly anticipating this rulemaking. The proposed rule places the SBA’s WOSB Program on equal footing with other SBA government contracting programs in providing for award . . . Read More
Well done! Through your reasoned approach and powers of persuasion, you have managed to resolve the pending contract dispute on your own, and thus have avoided that costly telephone call to the litigator in your attorneys’ office and the uncertainty that comes with putting your dispute before a judge or arbitrator for resolution. As you reflect on the expense that your efforts have saved the company and contemplate a possible second career as a diplomat, a draft settlement agreement arrives . . . Read More
Most Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (“SDVO”) Small Business Concerns (“SDVO SBCs”) are likely familiar with the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) requirements for an SDVO SBC to submit an offer for an SDVO contract as a joint venture (“JV”). One requirement in particular, i.e., that the parties’ joint venture agreement (“JVA”) contains a provision designating the SDVO SBC as “managing venturer” and an employee of the SDVO SBC as “project manager”, has been heard time and time again by the many SDVO SBCs . . . Read More
By Kimi Murakami Among the other areas of your business that you need to keep in order, don’t forget your website. Your website is the company’s digital storefront to the public. Protecting it is paramount to protecting your brand. Below is a checklist of issues to keep in mind in order to more fully-protect valuable company assets. Have you trademarked your business name and logo? If not, are you using the ™ (trademark) symbol after the mark? Your company’s name, . . . Read More
As we are rapidly reaching the middle of 2015, why not pause for a moment and identify some current trends and recurring themes and issues that are found in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) within the government contracting industry. With this goal in mind, here is a ‘top six’ list to review and digest: Has GovCon M&A Reached a “New Normal”? Think about 2006-2007 as being a peak in terms of deal volume and valuations and the first half of 2013-2014 . . . Read More
By Alex Levine Proposal preparation can be a difficult and expensive process. On top of the normal challenges of spending thousands of dollars preparing what a contractor hopes is a successful proposal, they also face the risk of an agency cancelling the solicitation and procuring the work some other way. These cancellations routinely occur for any of a wide number of reasons, including the agency’s changed needs, a corrective action taken in response to a bid protest, or the identification . . . Read More
