The Weekly Update recaps recent legislative and regulatory updates affecting
government contractors and commercial businesses.
If you have questions concerning this content, please email marketing@pilieromazza.com.
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Helping Clients Navigate Complex Employment Disputes Earns PilieroMazza Spot on 2026 Best Law Firms® List, PilieroMazza News, Nichole D. Atallah, Matthew E. Feinberg
PilieroMazza is proud to be recognized once again among the Best Law Firms® for 2026, earning distinction for our attorneys’ work in Litigation–Labor and Employment. As labor and employment disputes, including wage-and-hour and workplace discrimination claims, continue to evolve in complexity and volume, PilieroMazza remains dedicated to providing smart, responsive legal solutions that align with our clients’ business goals. This national recognition reflects our team’s deep legal knowledge, steadfast professionalism, and unwavering commitment to protecting our clients’ interests. Read more here.
FAR Part 19 Shake-Up: What It Means for Your Contracts, Your Team, and Your Bottom Line, PilieroMazza News, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
Significant revisions to FAR Part 19 will reshape how the federal government engages with small business government contractors, and there are implications for prime and subcontractors alike. In this webinar, PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba unpacks the new rules, explains how they affect your bidding strategies and compliance obligations, and shares tactics to ensure your company stays contract-ready. Click here to view the recorded session.
SBA & Other Agencies Mentor-Protégé Programs, PilieroMazza News, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV, Kristine “Krissy” Crallé
Join NVSBC’s Marie Myszkier and PilieroMazza GovCon attorneys Cy Alba and Krissy Crallé for the latest episode in NVSBC’s Virtual Training Series, “SBA & Other Agencies Mentor-Protégé Programs,” where they explore key aspects of mentor-protégé opportunities across federal agencies. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain strategic insights to support your company’s success! Click here to view the recorded session.
8(a) Certifications are Changing: What Small Businesses Must Know in 2025, PilieroMazza News, Meghan F. Leemon
GovCon Giants’ Eric Coffie and PilieroMazza’s Meghan Leemon show you the critical changes happening with 8(a) and other small business certifications in 2025 that you must know to protect and grow your business. In this video, they break down the latest updates, including the overhaul of FAR Part 19, the reinstatement of the “bonafide place of business” rule for construction, and why certification approvals are taking longer. Eric and Meghan explain the ongoing compliance requirements many business owners miss, which can lead to losing your certification permanently. More importantly, they will share success stories and strategies for leveraging your certification, from self-marketing and creating a powerful capability statement to planning for a successful exit or sale of your business. If you want to move beyond just having a certificate and start using it to generate real revenue through sole-source contracts, teaming, and joint ventures, Eric and Meghan will guide you through the essential steps. Click here to view the recorded session.
FAR Overhaul: FAR Companion Version 2.0
On October 30, the FAR Council released an updated version of the FAR Companion (FC) including FAR Parts 2, 3, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 32, 37, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 52, and 53. The FC also updates previously released content, including “required use” contracts and providing more information and resources on Category Management; evaluation factors; sole source justification content for FSS orders; contracting methods for commercial construction; and updates to thresholds referenced due to the October 1, 2025, inflation adjustment rule. Read more here.
Small Business Administration (SBA) News Release: SBA Forced to Cancel National Veterans Small Business Week Due to Federal Shutdown
On November 3, SBA announced that the agency’s 12th annual National Veterans Small Business Week celebration, originally scheduled for November 3-7, 2025, has been canceled due to the ongoing federal shutdown. The week-long recognition cannot proceed because of the funding lapse that has suspended key SBA programs and services. Read more here.
Contractors Fear Retaliation If They Try to Recover Shutdown Costs, Defense One
Companies do have legal rights to recoup their losses, but their attorneys say they fear reprisal by the Trump administration. Contractors who sell to the federal government have certain rights to recoup costs inflicted by the federal shutdown, but will they dare to exercise them? Read more here.
Department of War (DOW) News Release: DOW Releases Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Military Intelligence Program (MIP) Budget
On November 3, DOW released the MIP-appropriated top-line budget for fiscal year 2025. The total was $27.8 billion, which includes supplemental funding and is aligned to support the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance. Read more here.
DHS Funding in One Big Beautiful Bill—What GovCons Need to Know, GovCon Wire
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, delivers an unprecedented $190.6 billion to the Department of Homeland Security and its components—doubling DHS’s near-term resources and creating one of the most expansive multi-year acquisition runways in its history. Most of the money is available through fiscal 2029, setting the stage for a sustained period of modernization and contracting activity. Read more here.
Industry Groups Push to Keep Open-Source Measures in Annual Intelligence Bill, Nextgov/FCW
A coalition of industry groups and former officials is asking Congress to preserve measures in the annual intelligence community authorization bill that support the use of open-source intelligence in U.S. spy agencies. Read more here.
State Interest in AI Regulations Unlikely to Die Down Soon, Expert Says, Route Fifty
In late September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation regulating artificial intelligence in the state, in a move state officials said installed “commonsense guardrails on the development of frontier artificial intelligence models.” Even as the federal moratorium threatens to return, state legislators want to regulate the technology themselves, absent action from Congress, and are looking at a variety of areas to do so. Read more here.
White House Pushes Agencies to Deregulate Faster, Government Executive
The Trump administration, on October 21, released a memorandum to guide agencies on how to implement a directive establishing legally untested processes to speed up the repeal of regulations. While President Trump is pursuing a deregulatory agenda, the shutdown is likely hampering progress. Read more here.
Boeing, Shipbuilders Win in Reconciliation Defense Spending Plan, Bloomberg Government
The Pentagon plans to spend almost $18 billion on shipbuilding and at least $1 billion on border security and counter-drug operations from the money Congress approved as part of a major tax-and-spending bill. Read more here (subscription required).
Don’t Give Up the Shipyards, Defense One
The current administration and its predecessor have brought sustained attention to the urgent strategic problem of American shipbuilding, but a prospective deal for icebreakers could place this essential work in jeopardy. Trump’s first shipbuilding deal must not derail America’s bipartisan strategy to revive the foundations of its sea power. Read more here.
Upcoming Government Contract Presentations
WEBINAR: Legal Strategies & Capture Planning, November 7, 2025, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
SEMINAR: FAR Changes Unlocked: Your Guide to the New Regulations, November 10, 2025, Emily A. Reid
PM WEBINAR: Overcoming the Compliance Minefield of Cost-Reimbursement Contracts, Part 3: Ready, Set, Comply! Build Indirect Rates That Stand Up to DCAA Scrutiny, November 12, 2025, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
PM WEBINAR: Avoiding Common Teaming and Subcontracting Pitfalls, November 13, 2025, Jon Williams
TRAINING: Understanding and Avoiding Affiliation for Small Business Government Contractors, December 2, 2025, Daniel Figuenick, III, Nathan Jahnigen
TRAINING: Joint Venture and Mentor-Protégé Bidding Strategies, December 4, 2025, Peter B. Ford, Meghan F. Leemon
CONFERENCE: Simplifying REAs in the DOD Contracts, December 4, 2025, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
WEBINAR: Small Business Contracting & Subcontracting, December 10, 2025, Meghan F. Leemon
WEBINAR: Government Contractors and Tariff Challenges: Strategies for Success, December 12, 2025, Jacqueline K. Unger
FCA Implications for M&A Transactions, PilieroMazza Webinar Replay, Matthew E. Feinberg, Kristen Centre
In mergers and acquisitions involving government contractors, the False Claims Act is an important consideration that both buyers and sellers need to address, particularly if the target company is the focus of an FCA investigation or faces FCA risks. It’s also important for both buyers and sellers to understand potential disclosure, indemnification, and fraudulent conveyance issues before signing on the dotted line. Click here to view the recorded session.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Final Rule: Implementation of the Administrative False Claims Act
On November 3, DHS published a final rule updating DHS administrative procedures for assessing penalties and recovering funds procured by fraud under departmental programs. The rule implements the Administrative False Claims Act of 19https://youtu.be/IGnEkGjXcUs86, as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2025. The final rule implements the NDAA to reflect the updated penalty levels, new definitions, and the option for the Board of Contract Appeals judges to act as presiding officers. The final rule also makes minor clarifications and DHS procedural changes. The rule is available here and is effective November 3, 2025.
Memo Lays Out Path to Removing Even More Defense Civilians from Their Jobs, Government Executive
The Defense Department is making another push to slim its civilian workforce, this time by directing managers to fire employees for “unacceptable performance” while continuing to encourage civilians to leave voluntarily. The Defense Department, which has met its 8% overall reduction goal, is now going after “low performers.” Read more here.
Employees Are Receiving Renewed Furlough Notices as Shutdown Enters Second Month, This Time Without Back Pay Guarantees, Government Executive
The government shutdown is poised to enter its second month on Saturday, meaning agencies across the government on Friday once again sent furlough notices to hundreds of thousands of workers. To maintain clarity between shutdown furloughs and more permanent and planned cost-saving measures, notices are required to go out every 30 days. The current funding lapse entered its 31st day on Friday—and could next week surpass the record-setting, 35-day impasse from 2018-2019—which required a fresh, formal update from agencies letting around 650,000 employees know they should remain at home without working. Read more here.
Shutdown Furloughs Will Permanently Cost the Economy at Least $7 Billion, CBO Says, Government Executive
Forcing a large swath of the federal workforce not to work for going on a full month is having significant and lasting impacts on the economy, according to a non-partisan legislative branch review, causing a loss of at least $7 billion from the gross domestic product. Unlike most of the shutdown’s economic impacts, the lost productivity from feds not working cannot be reversed. Read more here.
Labor Department Brings Back 250 More Employees in Shutdown, Bloomberg Government
The Department of Labor is recalling 255 furloughed workers to staff more services as the government shutdown nears its second month. The department’s new contingency plan, released Friday, said that Office of Foreign Labor Certification staff will be recalled to process prevailing wage determinations and labor certification applications. Read more here (subscription required).
Upcoming Labor & Employment Presentations
WEBINAR: Current Contracting Landscape, November 12, 2025, Nichole D. Atallah
CONFERENCE: Unpacking and Seizing Opportunity in Changes to Labor and Employment, November 20, 2025, Nichole D. Atallah
Pentagon Looks to Get Pulse of Small Businesses as CMMC Looms, Federal News Network
The Pentagon’s small business office is polling companies about their readiness to meet the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements, with CMMC set to officially become a contracting requirement next week. The new cybersecurity compliance survey comes as the Pentagon’s CMMC acquisition rule becomes effective November 10, regardless of the government shutdown. Read more here.
Upcoming White House Cyber Strategy to Seek More Involvement with Private Sector, Government Executive
The Trump 2.0 cyber strategy is in development, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said, though he did not elaborate on when it would be released. Read more here.
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