The Weekly Update for February 16, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 81 Firms Land Spots on $15B GSA Alliant 2 Small Business GWAC According to an article on govconwire.com , the General Services Administration has awarded 81 companies spots on the small business portion of a potential 10-year, $15 billion government-wide acquisition contract vehicle for information technology platforms and services. The agency noted the list includes some companies that were named “apparent winners” in the pre-award notice released in December as well as “contingent” awardees that were not listed in . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 9, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Pentagon Warns CEOs: Protect Your Data or Lose Our Contracts According to an article from Govexec.com, the Pentagon has issued a warning to defense-industry contractors, insinuating that they need to sharpen up their computer networks protection, or risk losing business. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was at the forefront of the push for greater security measures, stating, “The culture we need to get to is that we’re going to defend ourselves and that … we want the bar . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 2, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Procurement of Commercial Items (DFARS case 2016-d006) The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule, which amended the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2013, 2016, and 2018, related to commercial item acquisitions. The rule will reduce the risk of fraud, increase accountability, and make the buying process more seamless for the military. See 83 Fed. Reg 4431 . SMALL BUSINESS Ownership and Control . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for January 26, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR); Federal Supply Schedule, Order-Level Materials The General Services Administration (GSA) is amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to clarify the authority to acquire order-level materials (OLMs) when placing an individual task or delivery order against a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract or FSS blanket purchase agreement (BPA). OLMs are supplies and/or services acquired in direct support of an individual task or delivery order placed against an FSS contract or BPA, . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for January 19, 2018
TOP OF THE NEWS The Government Shutdown Top 10: Things You Should Know Before You Send Employees Home By Nichole D. Atallah Ms. Atallah’s blog creates an invaluable list for government contractors to keep in mind should the government shutdown actually come to fruition. The list discusses various labor and employment issues that could expose companies to liability, and ranges from state wage and hour law compliance to security clearance processing. For the complete list, please read the full . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for January 12, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Pentagon Task Force’s $675 Million in Contracts to Rebuild Afghanistan Found Wasteful According to an article from Government Executive, the Defense Department’s now-defunct business task force for rebuilding war-torn Afghanistan has again been found to have ineffectively spent its budget, devoting more than half of $675 million in contract obligations to indirect or support costs. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction on Tuesday released its latest critique of the Pentagon’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for December 22, 2017
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Department of Labor Seeks to Loosen Reins on Restaurant Industry By Rescinding Regulation of Certain Tip Pooling Practices In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division launched an aggressive enforcement initiative aimed at ensuring companies in the restaurant and food service industry comply with the federal minimum wage, overtime, and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Plaintiff-side employment lawyers took note immediately and began advertising to their target audience. It . . . Read More
The Weekly Update December 15, 2017
SMALL BUSINESS GSA Names 80 Small Businesses to Lead Alliant 2 SB Competition On December 7, 2017, the GSA released a pre-award list of 80 companies in the running for the five-year, $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business information technology and professional services contract. The businesses have not yet been granted award but the listing allows competitors to challenge the small-business status of those listed. For a complete list, please see the Federal Contracts Report, Vol 108, No 21, 545. . . . Read More
The Weekly Update December 1, 2017
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS PROTESTS If the Federal Watchdog Office Works for Contract Protestors, Why the Decline? According to an article posted in the Federal Contracts Report, several reasons could explain the decrease in bid protest filings in 2017 despite an “effectiveness” rate showing that the Federal Watchdog office regularly provides relief to contractors. There has been a 7% drop in filing bid protests in fiscal 2017—from 2,789 to 2,596—and there are various reasons available as likely explanations; including but not . . . Read More
The Weekly Update November 14, 2017
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SBA Backlash to SBA Regulatory Research Contract Is Growing Critics are raising significant concerns about the award of a federal contract to study regulatory costs to two researchers whose previous work has been widely criticized. The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy on September 21st awarded researchers W. Mark Crain and Nicole V. Crain a contract worth $136,250 to conduct a study on the disproportionate cost impact of regulations on small businesses, due in December 2018. “We . . . Read More