Government Contracts MonitorOHA Appeals: Why Bother Appealing If You Aren’t Going to Review the Record?December 15, 2015 Two recent decisions by the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) raise the question of why parties file appeals concerning fact-based issues if they don’t want to review the record on which the challenged determinations were based. The decisions also vividly demonstrate the practical problems and litigation risks such parties run when they don’t timely… “Control” Is Based on the What the Governing Documents Say, Not How the Owners ActDecember 15, 2015 As businesses grow and change over time, practical aspects of their internal governance often change as well. If the owners’ day-to-day practices gradually diverge from their originally agreed upon approaches, it can be easy to forget the governing documents and what they say. Owners of small business contractors, however, do so at their peril. As the recent Small Business Administration (SBA)… If the Agency Gives You a Chance to Explain Your Proposed Costs, Take ItDecember 7, 2015 Agency comments during discussions often articulate a weakness or deficiency. Sometimes, however, the Government is also simply asking questions – identifying specific issues that should be addressed – and affording an offeror the opportunity to explain its proposal. When that happens, contractors need to be ready to capitalize on that opportunity to explain, but not always necessarily to change,… Short Take – Final Rule Establishing Minimum WageDecember 7, 2015 On December 4, 2015, DOD, GSA and NASA adopted a Final Rule, effective immediately, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement (i) President Obama’s Executive Order 13658, establishing a minimum wage for employees working on covered federal contracts and subcontracts, and (ii) the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Final Rule (previously discussed here). The Final Rule… Size Protests 101: Do Your Homework and Don’t Rely on SBADecember 7, 2015 A recent decision by the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) provides a good reminder that concerns filing size protests need to do their homework and submit supporting evidence with their protests. Protestors should not rely on the SBA to investigate or look for materials that might be relevant to the issues raised in the protest, much less look for… Short Take: Another Failed Scheme Alleging Work Performed By Minority Owned BusinessNovember 30, 2015 Last week Granite Construction, Inc. (Granite), a publically traded company, entered into a non-prosecution agreement under which it will pay more than $8 million to the federal government and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The agreement resolves a criminal investigation into a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) fraud scheme perpetrated by Granite’s wholly-owned… Knowing and Meeting Solicitation Requirements, Part IINovember 30, 2015 A recent article addressed the dangers of “aspirational analysis”, the dynamic in which offerors interpret a solicitation as saying what they want it to say rather than recognizing what it actually requires. A slightly different version of the problem is highlighted by the decision in Aerostar Perma-Fix TRU Services, LLC, B-411733; B-411733.4 (October 8, 2015), where the protester… Failure to Resolve Conflict of Interest Requires Re-DoNovember 30, 2015 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently was called upon, for the first time, to consider circumstances where an agency knowingly failed to investigate and resolve whether an agency employee who actively engaged in procurement-related activities should have been recused from those activities due to an apparent conflict of interest arising from the employee’s prior employment by the… Short Take: If The Government Joins In, The Stakes Get HigherNovember 24, 2015 The Department of Justice just announced that it has intervened in a lawsuit in which it is alleged that Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (Inchcape) violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly overbilling the U.S. Navy for ship husbanding services from 2005 to 2014. The lawsuit was brought under the whistleblower provisions of the FCA by former… DUNS’ Days May Be NumberedNovember 23, 2015 On November 18, 2015, the Federal Regulations Council proposes to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to change the terminology for unique identification of entities receiving Federal awards by removing the current references to the proprietary DUNS number standard. Maintaining a unique identification system for entities receiving Federal dollars is critical to ensuring the Government… 61-Count Indictment for Falsely Certifying Davis-Bacon Act WagesNovember 20, 2015 A recently-filed indictment highlights the substantial personal liabilities that a company principal may face if the company fails to pay required minimum wages, and particularly if the company submits false certifications to the Government as to the wages paid. U.S. v. Marcus Butler, N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:15 CR 0415. Specifically, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the… Short Take: Controlled Technical Information Two-year AnniversaryNovember 16, 2015 DFARS Clause 252.204-7012 has been required in all solicitations and contracts for two years now. It provides minimum standards to protect DoD unclassified Controlled Technical Information (CTI) that resides on or is transmitted through a contractor’s unclassified networks. What is CTI? It’s defined as technical information with military or space application that is subject to controls on the… |
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