Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 7, 2025
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 . ______________________________________________ GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report: Whistleblowers, VA Should Assess Data and Monitor Settlement Agreements to Better Ensure Protections On July 31, GAO released a report reviewing the characteristics of VA whistleblower retaliation investigations and VA’s process for settling whistleblower retaliation claims. This report examines (1) the number, length, and outcomes of VA whistleblower retaliation cases; (2) typical . . . Read More
What SLSCO Teaches Contractors About Challenging Performance Ratings
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Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 31, 2025
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 . ______________________________________________ PilieroMazza’s Josie Farinelli Honored with Meritorious Civilian Service Award from the U.S. Air Force, PilieroMazza News, Josie Farinelli PilieroMazza is proud to announce that Josie Farinelli , a valued member of our Government Contracts team, was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award by the Department of the Air Force—one of the highest honors bestowed upon civilian personnel. It is granted for . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 24, 2025
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 . ______________________________________________ GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS A True Path to Making America Great: Supporting Small Businesses and the Rule of Two, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV Recently, there has been a good deal of speculation about whether the so-called “Rule of Two” will continue to exist after the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) overhaul that is currently ongoing. Specifically, whether FAR Part 19 will continue . . . Read More
A True Path to Making America Great: Supporting Small Businesses and the Rule of Two
Recently, there has been a good deal of speculation about whether the so-called “Rule of Two” will continue to exist after the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) overhaul that is currently ongoing. Specifically, whether FAR Part 19 will continue to have such a rule, given it is not expressly stated in the Small Business Act (the Act) (but it is certainly intimated that such a rule is the best way to ensure that the statutory small business goals are met). However, . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 17, 2025
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 . ______________________________________________ GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS UPDATE: Let Your Voice be Heard: Congress Wants to Hear from Small Business Government Contractors, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Antonio R. Franco , Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV , Jacqueline K. Unger , Kristine “Krissy” Crallé The House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure hearing titled “Leveling the Playing Field: Fostering Opportunities for Small Business Contractors,” originally scheduled for July 8 to address key issues impacting small business government contractors, was . . . Read More
UPDATE: Let Your Voice be Heard: Congress Wants to Hear from Small Business Government Contractors
The House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure hearing titled “Leveling the Playing Field: Fostering Opportunities for Small Business Contractors,” originally scheduled for July 8 to address key issues impacting small business government contractors, was postponed. A new date has not been confirmed. It is anticipated that the hearing may be rescheduled for some time in September. Please visit this link for our original client alert. In the meantime, PilieroMazza encourages stakeholders to still submit letters. Sharing your experiences now will . . . Read More
2025 Newly Increased Health and Welfare Rates on SCA Government Contracts
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has again issued new Service Contract Act (SCA) health and welfare (H&W) rates. Effective July 7, 2025, WHD increased the prevailing H&W fringe benefits from a rate of $5.36 per hour to $5.55 per hour. Where a contractor is obligated to comply with Executive Order (EO) 13706 sick leave obligations, the rates increased from $4.93 per hour to $5.09 per hour. Updated rates of $2.42 per hour (without the EO) . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 10, 2025
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 . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SBA Orders Full-Scale Audit of 8(a) Program: What You Should Do to Prepare, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Jon Williams , Meghan F. Leemon The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced an “immediate and full-scale audit” of its 8(a) business development program. The announcement stems from a “years-long fraud and bribery scheme involving a former federal contracting officer and two 8(a) contractors,” . . . Read More
SBA Orders Full-Scale Audit of 8(a) Program: What You Should Do to Prepare
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced an “immediate and full-scale audit” of its 8(a) business development program. The announcement stems from a “years-long fraud and bribery scheme involving a former federal contracting officer and two 8(a) contractors,” as detailed in a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release . This scheme involving two 8(a) contractors appears to be isolated to a few bad actors rather than broader issues with the social and economic disadvantage requirements of the 8(a) program. Nevertheless, SBA is . . . Read More