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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 ...

President Trump signed into law the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 on December 17th, 2018. The Act modified how the SBA calculates a business’ size for revenue-based size standards. The Act also increased the period of time used in the calculation of a firm’s receipts from three years to five.

Regulations implementing the Act go into effect on January 6th, 2020. However, the final rule permits contractors to elect to use either the three-year or five-year period of measurement for certifications submitted on or before January 6th, 2022. The election period is ...

Presently 33 states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana laws. While some of these laws have been on the books for several years, the impact on employers and company policies are still evolving. This issue has created confusion for federal contractors who are required to comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act (DFWPA) of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 81). The Act requires a federal contractor with a contract greater than the simplified acquisition threshold to maintain a drug-free workplace and lays out specific actions the contractor must take to ensure compliance ...

Most government contracts include a clause giving the government the right to terminate the contract, or any part thereof, for its sole convenience “when it is in the best interests of the government.” FAR Parts 49, 12, 13, and 31 establish the regulatory requirements for termination and settlement of government contracts. The mechanics are specific. Upon receipt of the notice of termination, the prime contractor should immediately stop all work and terminate all subcontracts related to the terminated portion of the prime contract. Inventory disposal schedules must be ...

OTA Overview

The Department of Defense can issue Other Transaction Agreements (“OTA”) for research, prototypes, and production. 10 U.S.C. § 2371b. Research OTAs are available for basic, applied, and advanced research projects. The DoD may also acquire prototypes using OTAs. Production OTAs are only permitted where the government has previously acquired a prototype under an earlier OTA. Additionally, the solicitation for the original prototype must have notified offerors that the government reserved the right to issue a follow-on Production OTA.

OTAs at the GAO

In a ...