Government Contracts

Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the use of a revised Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form (CC-305) released by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal contractors and subcontractors with at least 50 employees and contracts of…

When companies get into trouble and need to investigate and prepare a report on it to the government, they typically want to limit the report’s exposure. One way to limit disclosing company information in these situations is to hire an outside law firm to direct the investigation and have the…

GAO recently sustained a protest that the agency improperly credited awardees for having mandatory certifications, where the certifications provided in the proposals were issued to affiliated entities and not the offeror. In that same procurement, GAO determined that the agency also unreasonably credited one of the awardees with the corporate…

Facing a cash flow crisis brought on by COVID-19, government contractors have only two basic  ways of increasing cash flow: getting new contracts and performing incumbent contracts. A lot of media attention has focused on ways contractors can get cash flow help in performing their incumbent contracts. Berenzweig Leonard…

On May 6, 2020, the FAR Council issued a final rule amending the FAR to implement President Trump’s October 31, 2019 Executive Order revoking President Obama’s January 30, 2009 Executive Order on the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts. The final rule deletes FAR subpart 22.12 in its…

On May 11, 2020, the SBA published a final rule implementing a certification requirement for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) and Economically Disadvantages Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs) and adjusting the economic disadvantage thresholds for determining whether an individual qualifies as economically disadvantaged for both the EDWOSB and 8(a) programs. WOSB/EDWOSB Certification…

On March 30, 2020, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC), the civilian agency component of the FAR Council, expanded the availability of accelerated payments. It issued a FAR class deviation to add small business prime contractors to those entitled to accelerated payments. In doing so, the CAAC implemented a…

The new FAR regulations dealing with the small business programs in FAR Part 19 recently adopted by the FAR Council can get lost in the news of the coronavirus and the need for contractors to find ways to keep their doors open. But, buried among the 28 pages of 3-column…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which is an expansive economic relief bill, includes a provision that may provide relief to contractors whose employees are unable to work due to coronavirus-related facility closures or other restrictions. This provision, Section 3610, permits agencies to modify the terms and…