Out With the Old “Mad Men” Era Sex Discrimination Guidelines for Federal Contractors

By Final Rule on August 15, 2016, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) updated its sex discrimination guidelines, in an effort to ensure that companies doing business with the federal government refrain, in accordance with current law and today’s workplace environment, from discriminating against their employees, based on their sex.   The OFFCP had previously determined that the original guidelines and regulations, which enforce Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 11246 and date back as far as . . . Read More

DOJ Doubles Penalties for Violation of the False Claims Act

By Ambi Biggs The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has issued an interim final rule that dramatically increases the dollar amount for civil penalties that can be assessed against an entity or individual who violates the False Claims Act (“FCA”). Under the FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq., anyone who knowingly presents a “false or fraudulent” claim to the government for payment or approval or knowingly makes or uses a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim . . . Read More

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Provide Feedback on the Government’s Strategic Plan for Professional Services

By Michelle Litteken On August 2, 2016, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) released the government’s new Professional Services Strategic Plan for industry comment. The Strategic Plan outlines the actions the government will take to manage spending for professional services. The professional services category is the second largest of the 10 category management categories with $63 billion in spending in FY 2015. This category includes business administrative services, marketing and distribution, public relations and professional communications, financial services, and technical and . . . Read More

The Weekly Update for August 5, 2016

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION HUBZone and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 Amendments GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts Amendments Related to Sources of Electronic Parts This week’s report follows,  click here if you would like to download a copy . SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Small Business Mentor-Protégé Programs The SBA is amending its regulations to the HUBZone Program.  The amendments: (1) authorize Native Hawaiian Organizations (“NHO”) to own HUBZone small business concerns; (2)  expand the HUBZone Program to assist small businesses in disaster areas and base closure areas; and (3) . . . Read More

The Corporate Designee in Commercial Litigation – the Voice That Binds the Company

A corporate entity is regarded by the law as a “person” for purposes of standing to sue and be sued, but an organization, whether corporation, partnership, governmental organization, or other entity, can act only through its officers, directors or other agents. Accordingly, when a corporate entity becomes a party to a lawsuit, whether as a plaintiff or as a defendant, it will undoubtedly be required, at some point, to provide testimony at deposition in the course of the discovery phase . . . Read More

The SBA’s New Mentor-Protégé Program: The Dilemma of Hiring Project Managers

On July 25, 2016, SBA released its long-awaited final rule creating the new mentor-protégé program for all small businesses. Many aspects of the new rule are very exciting and should be beneficial for the small business community at large. However, buried in the lengthy rulemaking are a few provisions that will be problematic for small businesses when the rules go into effect on August 24, 2016. One of the problematic provisions will adversely effect how many small businesses form joint . . . Read More

SBA Releases Long Anticipated Final Rule Establishing Governmentwide Mentor-Protegé Program for All Small Business Concerns

On July 25, 2016, SBA published the eagerly anticipated  Final Rule  establishing a governmentwide mentor-protégé program for all small business concerns. While there are a few departures from the details outlined in the Proposed Rule released nearly a year and half ago, the Final Rule generally adheres to the plan outlined in the Proposed Rule, which was modeled on the existing 8(a) mentor-protégé program. The Final Rule also contains changes in other areas of SBA’s regulations, such as the rules applying to . . . Read More

FAQ on the Limitations on Subcontracting New Rules

We recently held a live seminar and a webinar on the new Limitations on Subcontracting (“LOS”) rule.  We reviewed the questions submitted during the sessions, and noticed that many of the same questions were being asked by attendees.  We hope this article addresses several questions you may also have on LOS.  We have grouped those questions by topic.   Construction vs. Supplies vs. Services We received a couple of questions asking for clarification on which LOS rule applies to different . . . Read More

NLRB to Collect More Data About Federal Contractors Charged with Unfair Labor Practices

By Julia Di Vito On July 1, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced that it will ask employers that receive unfair labor practice complaints to report information that would identify them as government contractors. Anne Purcell, Associate General Counsel of the NLRB, issued Memorandum OM 16-23 to the NLRB’s regional offices directing the NLRB to collect additional data points regarding employers charged with unfair labor practices. This new practice is in furtherance of the 2014 Fair Pay and . . . Read More

SBA Simplifies Minority Shareholder Affiliation Rule for Loan Program Applicants

SBA recently issued a final rule redefining the rules of affiliation for firms applying to SBA’s business loan programs. The final rule separates and distinguishes the loan program affiliation rules from SBA’s government contracting and business development programs. Moreover, the final rule simplifies the guidelines for determining affiliation for small business eligibility as it relates to the loan programs. Case in point—the minority shareholder rule. Under the new minority shareholder rule, when no single owner (individual or entity) holds more . . . Read More