BLOG: Minimum Wage for Government Contractors Increases January 1, 2020
Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the Order) established a minimum wage for employees working on, or in connection with, covered government contracts. Each year, the Department of Labor (DOL) assesses the established minimum wage and, using determined methodology, announces an increase. On September 19, the DOL announced [1] the rate would increase to $10.80 per hour on January 1, 2020. The required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on, or in connection with, covered . . . Read More
BLOG: Small Businesses and the FCA: Are More FCA Cases Against Small Businesses on the Horizon?
On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had reached a $20 million settlement with Luke Hillier (Hillier), the majority owner and former CEO of a Virginia-based defense contractor, ADS, Inc. (ADS), to resolve “allegations that he violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by fraudulently obtaining federal set-aside contracts reserved for small businesses that his company was ineligible to receive . . . .” The resolution of the claims against Hillier follows ADS’s payment of a . . . Read More
BLOG: Protégé Subcontract Revenues from Mentor Hold No Basis for Economic Dependence
An important benefit of a mentor-protégé agreement (MPA) is that no determination of affiliation may be found between a protégé and its mentor solely because of assistance provided under the agreement. A recent decision of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), Avar Consulting, Inc., [1] upheld a size determination which found that a protégé was not affiliated with its SBA-approved mentor through economic dependence, even though the revenues it received from the mentor constituted over 70% of . . . Read More
BLOG: 5 Things Government Contractors Should Know About Task Order Protests
With the fiscal year coming to a close, federal agencies are issuing notices of award and disappointed offeror letters. Because of the push toward category management and the growth in government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC) and indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts, many of the procurements involve task orders. Although a task order may be similar to a contract in many respects, the rules that apply to protesting the award of a task order are different. Understanding these rules is essential for . . . Read More
BLOG: Late Is Late—Even on the GSA Schedule
In a recent blog , we discussed the “late is late” rule in government contracting which has been the cause of many protests and much consternation among government contractors. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) have consistently held that it is proper for an agency to reject a late offer, even if the offer is only slightly late. Recently, COFC applied this rule to a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule purchase—specifically in Criterion Systems, . . . Read More
BLOG: 5 Things Government Contractors Should Know About Enhanced Debriefings
With the end of the fiscal year approaching and the frequency of contract awards increasing, many government contractors will be focusing on post-award debriefings. The Department of Defense (DOD) implemented enhanced post-award debriefings last year, and contractors often have questions about the process. Below are five things contractors should know about enhanced debriefings, which can be beneficial to a government contractor before becoming involved in a bid protest. Enhanced debriefings are limited to DOD agencies. Civilian agency debriefings have not changed . . . 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
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