Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 4, 2019
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
Key Ruling on Native American Sovereign Immunity Stands—for Now
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
BLOG: Building Compliance: Construction Industry Concerns Under FCA
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
BLOG: Cybersecurity Meets the FCA: What the Chinese Telecom Ban Means for Government Contractors
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
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 26, 2019
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
BLOG: The Big Miss: When Job Misclassification Strikes Hard
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
Comments Submitted in Response to RIN 3245-AH16, Small Business Size Standards: Calculation of Annual Average Receipts
BLOG: Prepare Now to Secure “Controlled Unclassified Information”
Nowadays, many people are familiar with at least some types of protected information, whether in the form of personal health information or government-classified information. But, contractors working with the Department of Defense (“DoD”) must remember to protect another type of information: controlled unclassified information (“CUI”). Failure by government contractors to put processes in place that protect CUI could result in the loss of contracting opportunities or potential False Claims Act-related litigation. For more information about the far-reaching implications of cybersecurity requirements on government . . . Read More
BLOG: GAO Defers to SBA on When Runway Extension Act Applies
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 Small Business Administration (“SBA”) finally published its proposed rule to amend its regulations and change the period of measurement for receipts-based size calculations from three years to five years. As my colleague Megan Connor noted . . . Read More
BLOG: Why Government Contractors Should Know About the Delaware LLC Division Statute
Relatively often in the government contracting industry a business finds itself in the position where, for one reason or another, it needs to split, fracture, or otherwise reorganize its operations by separating one line of business or division into a separate entity. When prime federal contracts are transferred from one entity to another, it often necessitates a novation agreement with the contracting government agency. Many government contractors discover the novation process to be relatively lengthy and burdensome, with the potential . . . Read More