On March 2, 2023, the White House announced that President Biden intends to ask Congress for $1.6 Billion to combat ongoing fraud related to COVID relief programs, referred to as “pandemic fraud.” This comes in the wake of “historic” levels of fraud that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the full extent of which is still not fully known. In the White House’s announcement, it notes that the requested $1.6 Billion will be for President Biden’s three-part Pandemic Anti-Fraud proposal. These three . . . Read More
Federal contractors would be among the first to experience serious financial consequences in the event Congress fails to raise the debt limit and government agencies can’t pay their bills as the fiscal year ends. . . . As a result, vendors [government contractors], particularly those with low cash reserves, would see dwindling bank accounts and be forced to take immediate action to stanch losses. Labor Concerns One common response to payment stoppages is for contractors to furlough or lay off . . . Read More
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . .” Charles Dickens’ famous line from A Tale of Two Cities may have been echoing in the ears of Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys a bit over the last month. On February 7, 2023, DOJ issued its annual report on fraud and False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for fiscal year 2022. After the agency recovered over $5.6 Billion in fiscal year 2021, the annual report disclosed what . . . Read More
PilieroMazza —a business law firm serving the legal needs of government contractors and commercial businesses—is pleased to announce that attorneys from the Firm’s Government Contracts and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice groups overturned another PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan forgiveness denial for a client that was wrongfully denied forgiveness by the Small Business Administration (SBA). “It’s important for businesses that receive a denial of their PPP loan forgiveness to know their rights and to carefully assess the basis for the denial,” said Cy Alba , Practice Group Chair of . . . Read More
As PilieroMazza has reported , rising costs due to inflation have been one of the most significant issues facing contractors with fixed-price contracts for the past year. Although the Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration (GSA) have taken some steps to ameliorate the situation, those solutions have left contractors wanting. But true relief may be in sight. Congress included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 that would authorize DOD contractors to receive . . . Read More
A nearly 100-year old family-run animal attraction in South Florida, Monkey Jungle, recently filed for federal aid due to issues related to COVID. Since primates in the attraction can contract the highly contagious virus from humans, the company had to close its doors. With no revenue, and still maintaining a staff to care for hundreds of animals, Monkey Jungle is struggling to stay in business. So the company filed for a federal COVID relief grant designed to keep entertainment venues . . . Read More
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program is in the midst of a major overhaul that would update, streamline, and clarify existing rules, strengthen implementation, and increase reporting requirements. The DOT’s DBE Program allows small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to tap into billions of dollars’ worth of contracting opportunities issued at the state and local level through federally-funded infrastructure projects. On July 21, 2022, DOT issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (Rule) which presents the biggest potential . . . Read More
In this blog, PilieroMazza ’s Labor & Employment attorney Sara Nasseri summarizes important takeaways for government contractors from the National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) Conference in July, which focuses on developments and updates surrounding EEO, affirmative action, HR compliance and diversity and inclusion issues. Described below are key priority items for the OFCCP and the EEOC, as well as updates to state laws impacting government contractors in 2022 and beyond. Also, please visit this link to register for PilieroMazza’s upcoming webinar detailing these changes and how to . . . Read More
PilieroMazza is pleased to announce that attorneys comprising three of the Firm’s core practice groups— Litigation & Dispute Resolution , Government Contracts , and Business & Transactions —successfully obtained reversal of a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) decision to deny forgiveness of a client’s Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan. The client obtained a PPP loan of more than $600,000 in early 2021 and sought forgiveness of the full amount of the loan in early 2022. After the client supplied additional information on several occasions in response to SBA’s direct . . . Read More
Last August, PilieroMazzareported that Bibi Hidalgo, the Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, announced that SBA will be suspending the bona fide place of business requirement for 8(a) construction contracts, effective immediately. While the Small Business Act requires that, to the “maximum extent practicable, construction subcontracts awarded by the Administration pursuant to this subsection shall be awarded within the county or state where the work is to be performed,” in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it . . . Read More
