Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – January 23, 2025

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
 

FY2025 NDAA: Significant Impacts on Small and Large Defense Contractors, PilieroMazza Blog, Lauren Brier
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA), signed into law on December 23, 2024, has significant implications for defense acquisition and contracting. Each year, PilieroMazza highlights key changes that impact small and large defense contractors when considering opportunities and complying with current law. Read more here.

Department of Defense (DOD) Final Rule: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Definition of Material Weakness 
On January 17, DOD published a final rule amending the DFARS to implement the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 defining the term “material weakness” for Government evaluation of contractor business systems. The term “material weakness” replaces the term “significant deficiency.” The rule is available here and is effective as of January 17, 2025. 
 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR): Conformance of the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for CAS 404 Capitalization of Tangible Assets and CAS 411 Accounting for Acquisition Costs of Material
On January 17, OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy published an ANPR and request for comments about the advantages, disadvantages, and improvements anticipated in the pricing and administration of Government contracts for the adoption of the proposed CAS. The ANPR is available here. Comments close March 18, 2025.
 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Proposed Rule

1. Small Business Participation on Certain Multiple-Award Contracts (MACs): On January 15, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a proposed rule and request for comments regarding changes to the FAR. Comments close March 17, 2025. This proposed rule will amend the FAR to update market research, acquisition planning, small business specialist coordination, and the use of set-asides for MACs. This proposed rule implements recommendations of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and is intended to expand the use of small business set-asides, increase coordination during acquisition planning, and provide additional criteria to consider or address in the documentation provided to the Small Business Administration. The rule is available here.
2. Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) in Federal Acquisition: On January 15, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a proposed rule and request for comments regarding changes to the FAR. Comments close March 17, 2025. This proposed rule will amend the FAR to implement the Preventing OCI in Federal Acquisition Act. This rule proposes updated definitions, guidance, and examples related to OCI and creates solicitation provisions and contract clauses to avoid or mitigate OCI. Contracting officers will be permitted to consider professional standards and procedures to prevent OCI to which an offeror or contractor is subject. The rule is available here.

Small Business Administration (SBA) Press Release

1. New Report Shows Consequential Impacts of SBA Pandemic Relief: On January 15, SBA issued a statement emphasizing the positive impact of SBA pandemic relief programs – including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), as well as the American Rescue Plan’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG). Read more here.
2. Biden-Harris Administration Awards Record-Breaking $183B in Federal Contracts to Small Businesses, Marking Fourth Consecutive Year of Growth: On January 10, SBA announced that small businesses received more than $183 billion in prime contracts from the federal government – 28.8% of all federal contracting dollars – in fiscal year 2024, which ended September 30, 2024. Prime contracting awards exceed the federal government’s 23% small business contracting goal and broke last year’s record of $178 billion in prime contracts going to small businesses. Read more here.

 
SEMINAR: Nuts, Bolts, and Beyond: To Be a Government Contractor, January 28, 2025, Eric Valle
 
WEBINAR: SBA Rule Will Affect the Value of Some Small Businesses: New GovCon Mergers and Acquisition Rules EXPLAINED, January 29, 2025, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
 
TRAINING: Unlocking the Secrets of Debriefings, Government Evaluation of Proposals and Protests, February 5, 2025, Aaron A. Kor, Eric Valle
 
TRAINING: Joint Venture and Mentor-Protege Bidding Strategies, February 6, 2025, Peter B. Ford, Meghan F. Leemon
 
CONFERENCE: Meet the Experts, February 11, 2025, Meghan F. Leemon
 
CONFERENCE: Subcontracting Essentials for 8(a) Contractors, February 12, 2025, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV, Nichole D. Atallah, Meghan F. Leemon
 
TRAINING: Unlocking the Secrets of Debriefings, Government Evaluation of Proposals and Protests
March 13, 2025, Katherine B. Burrows, Eric Valle
 
 
BID PROTESTS
 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Proposed Rule: Protests of Orders Under Certain Multiple-Award Contracts (MACs)
On January 15, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a proposed rule and request for comments regarding changes to the FAR. Comments close March 17, 2025. The proposed rule will amend the FAR to clarify protest rights for orders set aside under MACs that contracting officers, when exercising statutory grant of discretion, cannot alter existing protest rights. The rule is available here.
 
L3Harris CEO Urges Musk, Ramaswamy To Limit Bid Protests, Law360 
L3Harris Technologies’ CEO published an open letter to leaders of the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency — billionaire Elon Musk and ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy — calling on them to overhaul the defense contracting process and limit bid protests to three per year, per contractor, among other changes. Read more here (subscription required). 
 
 
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
 
Department of Defense (DOD) Proposed Rule: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds 
On January 17, DOD published a proposed rule and request for comments about amending the DFARS to implement the statutory five-year inflation adjustment requirement. The adjustment uses the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers and does not apply to the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute (Davis-Bacon Act), Service Contract Labor Standards statute, performance and payment bonds, and trade agreement thresholds. DOD also proposes using the same methodology to adjust some nonstatutory DFARS acquisition-related thresholds in 2025. The rule is available here. Comments close March 18, 2025.
 
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Press Release: FTC and DOJ Jointly Issue Antitrust Guidelines on Business Practices that Impact Workers
On January 16, the FTC and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) jointly issued antitrust guidelines for business activities affecting workers. The guidelines explain how both the FTC and DOJ assess whether business practices affecting workers violate the antitrust laws. These guidelines replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals. Read more here.
 
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Press Release: General Counsel Abruzzo Issues Memo on Harmonizing the NLRA and EEO Laws
On January 16, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo to all field offices on the harmonization of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws. The memorandum emphasizes the importance of complying with all requirements of the NLRA and the EEO laws and offers suggestions in certain key areas on how to effectuate compliance and ensure that employees receive full protection under the laws. Read more here.
 
Military Pay ‘More Than Adequate,’ Pentagon Review Finds, Federal News Network
DoD’s periodic review of military compensation found both officers and enlisted members are well ahead of what civilians with comparable education levels earn. The military’s current pay system compares very well against what most uniformed service members could be making in civilian life, but the system could still use some tweaks to ensure recruiting and retention are strong in future years, according to the latest edition of a detailed Pentagon review on military pay. Read more here.
 
VA Employees Ordered to Pay Back Bonuses Over Misconduct Now Have an Appeal Process, Government Executive
The Office of Personnel Management published an interim final rule setting procedures for current and former Veterans Affairs Department employees to appeal recoupments of awards, bonuses, and relocation expenses under the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act; although, the Biden administration has largely stopped using the law to discipline workers. Read more here.
 
Congressional Republicans Dial Up Multiple Bills to Cull Telework Flexibility, Government Executive
Roughly two weeks into a new session, the 119th Congress is continuing to forecast new restrictions on federal employee teleworking as a legislative priority for several Republican members. Read more here.
 
House Oversight Republicans Open Congress with Rants Against Telework, Unions, Government Executive
The first hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was ostensibly about telework yet frequently devolved into anti-union rhetoric. Read more here.
 
OPM Set to Finalize Rules Standardizing General Schedule, Blue-Collar Locality Pay Maps, Government Executive
The Office of Personnel Management appears set to finalize new regulations that will standardize the maps relied upon to determine the locality pay rates for white- and blue-collar federal workers across the U.S. The final rule implementing the long-requested adjustment to the Federal Wage System’s map of wage areas won’t be published until after President-elect Trump’s inauguration. Read more here.
 
EEOC: The Federal Gender Pay Gap Gets Worse with Age, Government Executive
The gender pay gap is much more pronounced among older federal workers than their younger counterparts, according to a new report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The discrepancy between what men and women make in the federal government is substantially larger for those over 40 years old than that of their younger counterparts. Read more here.
 
Ernst targets D.C.-Area Federal Workers With Trio of Bills, Government Executive
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, proposed legislation this week that would force agencies to move 30% of their D.C.-based workforce out of the region, mandate telework tracking, and push agencies to move their headquarters out of the nation’s capital. Read more here. 

 
TRAINING: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, January 29, 2025, Nichole D. Atallah
 
CONFERENCE: Ins and Outs of the Service Contract Act for 8(a) Contractors, February 12, 2025, Nichole D. Atallah
 
SEMINAR: Key Labor & Employment Rules, February 25, 2025, Nichole D. Atallah
 
CONFERENCE: Navigating HR Laws in the DMV Area: Your Must-Have Cheat Sheet (For Federal Contractors & More), February 25, 2025, Sarah L. Nash
 
TRAINING: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, February 26, 2025, Sarah L. Nash

EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE & BONUS PLANS
 
DOL Proposes Rule on Valuing Stock for Purchase by ESOPs, Law360 
The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule to help plan managers determine the value of company stock for purchase by an employee stock ownership plan while also withdrawing a previous rule that the DOL proposed in 1988 but never finalized. Read more here (subscription required). 
 
 
CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY
 
Department of Defense (DOD) Final Rule: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Update of Challenge Period for Validation of Asserted Restrictions on Technical Data and Computer Software 
On January 17, DOD published a final rule amending the DFARS to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 addressing validation of proprietary data restrictions. This rule increases the validation period for asserted restrictions from three years to six years and will provide an exception to the prescribed time limit for validation of asserted restrictions if the technical data involved are the subject of a fraudulently asserted use or release restriction. The rule is available here and is effective as of January 17, 2025. 
 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Proposed Rule: Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
On January 15, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a proposed rule and request for comments regarding changes to the FAR. Comments close March 17, 2025. This proposed rule will amend the FAR to implement requirements in the National Archives and Records Administration’s CUI Program. DOD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to revise the FAR to implement these requirements on the Federal CUI Program as it relates to performance under Federal contracts and will create a Standard Form to create a uniform process to communicate information contractors must manage and safeguard as well as identify where a CUI incident must be reported and when there are CUI incident reporting requirements that differ from or are in addition to those in the proposed FAR clause. The proposed rule is available here.
 
General Services Administration (GSA) News Release: GSA Secures Landmark Agreement with Microsoft to Enhance Federal IT Acquisition
On January 15, GSA announced that Microsoft and IT Vendor Management Office (ITVMO) have finalized an Agreement in Principle under the Governmentwide Microsoft Acquisition Strategy (GMAS). This agreement represents a significant milestone in the federal government’s effort to streamline IT acquisition processes and strengthen cybersecurity standards across federal government agencies. Read more here.
 
FAR Council Wants Uniform View of Controlled Information, Law360
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued a pair of long-awaited proposed regulations, seeking to define and protect controlled unclassified information across the government and to update rules related to conflicts of interest involving contractors. Read more here (subscription required).
 
Biden Makes Final Push to Fortify U.S. Cybersecurity Posture, Law360
President Joe Biden took the latest step toward boosting the nation’s cybersecurity , issuing an executive order that requires software vendors that work with the government to prove they’re meeting certain security standards and promote the use of artificial intelligence for cyberdefense. Read more here (subscription required).
 
Biden Executive Order Aims to Shore Up U.S. Cyber Defenses, Associated Press 
President Joe Biden issued an executive order aimed at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity and making it easier to go after foreign adversaries or hacking groups that try to compromise U.S. internet and telecommunication systems. Read more here (subscription required).