Blog
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") published a final rule that changes the lookback period for employee-based size standards from 12 months to 24 months. The final rule takes effect on July 6, 2022 and is welcome news for contractors that operate under North American Industry Classification Systems ("NAICS") codes with employee-based size standards.
Specifically, the final rule implements section 863 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283 ("2021 NDAA”), which amended portions of the Small Business Act to change ...
Recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a report on the continuing challenges and opportunities for the Department of Defense (“DOD”) in space acquisitions. GAO’s report, which was timely published during the 37th Annual Space Symposium, reflects the current rise of space systems in military and national security operations. The report also unearths challenges and opportunities related to space acquisitions stemming from a new acquisition process, the Space Force, growth in the commercial space industry, and evolving threats in ...
We recently wrote about the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (“OFCCP”) upcoming requirement for contractors to certify their affirmative action program ("AAP") compliance starting March 31, 2022. In forging ahead with its oversight function, on March 15, 2022, the OFCCP issued Directive 2022-01, Pay Equity Audits (the “Directive”), which requires contractors to produce internal pay equity analyses as part of their audit responses. This is the first OFCCP directive under the Biden Administration and it adds yet another significant element to ...
Federal contractors and subcontractors will soon be required to certify, on an annual basis, to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) that they have developed and maintained a written affirmative action program (“AAP”). On February 1, 2022, registration opened for the OFCCP AAP Verification Interface (“AAP-VI” or “Contractor Portal”) and, on March 31, the certification features will be turned on. When the certification features become available, existing covered contractors will then have until June 30, 2022 to certify that they have ...
A Government Accountability Office ("GAO") bid protest decision highlights an important aspect of "best value" in government contracting: a proper tradeoff decision must provide a rational explanation as to why a superior technical proposal warrants paying a higher price.
The protest of Alpha Omega Integration, LLC, B-419812; B-419812.2, August 10, 2021, 2021 CPD ¶ 302 involves a challenge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ("Agency") award under a solicitation for information technology services. The solicitation used a best-value source selection process with a ...
On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1538, a case that has garnered national attention for its potential to alter the way the United States Court of Federal Claims applies the so-called “waiver rule” first articulated in Blue & Gold Fleet, L.P. v. United States, 492 F.3d 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Brad English and Emily Chancey represented Harmonia in this case and were excited for the favorable ruling their client received.
The case involved a $325 million IT services ...
On November 30, 2021, Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction in Commonwealth of Kentucky et al. v. Biden et al. (Case No. 21-cv-00055) that prohibits the federal government “from enforcing the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.” This Client Alert provides a high-level overview of the decision and highlights similar challenges now pending in various U.S. District Courts throughout the country.
In ...
Yesterday, the Department of Defense ("DoD") announced Version 2.0 of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification ("CMMC") Program. Notably, CMMC 2.0 maintains the original CMMC 1.X Program's goal of safeguarding sensitive information, while:
- Simplifying the CMMC standard and providing additional clarity on cybersecurity regulatory, policy, and contracting requirements;
- Focusing the most advanced cybersecurity standards and third-party assessment requirements on companies supporting the highest priority programs; and
- Increasing Department oversight of ...
This Client Alert outlines the critical points for government contractors to know about the Biden Administration’s executive order, regulations, and guidance addressing COVID-19 prevention measures in the workplace.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (“EO”), to promote the economy and efficiency in federal procurement by ensuring that certain federal prime contractors and subcontractors provide adequate COVID-19 safeguards to their workers performing on or in ...
In August, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") provided a boost for small business joint ventures ("JV") that are pursuing defense contracts in holding that the plain language of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") prohibits the Department of Defense ("DoD") "from issuing solicitations that require a joint venture, rather than the members of the joint venture, hold the required facility clearance."
The decision is welcome news for small business JVs where each member holds the required facility security clearance ("FCL"), as the decision may result ...