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Because government contractors are charged with knowing what an agency has published on FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov), they need to closely monitor relevant procurement updates on that site. A recent GAO decision gave some helpful examples of contractor “ignorance being no excuse.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a solicitation for a…

South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-494 (21 June 2018) When a consumer purchases goods or services, the consumer’s State often imposes a sales tax.  The question before the Court was whether a State can require an out-of-state seller to collect…

The European Union’s new, rigorous privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR), continue to wash across the U.S. legal and regulatory landscape and impact U.S. based government contractors.   The latest to join the movement are our friends at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”).  On September 4, 2018, NIST announced plans to develop a voluntary privacy framework…

Now that electronic signatures are becoming common-place, government contractors need to know what qualifies as a valid electronic signature in procurement. An offer that is not properly signed could easily show that the offeror did not intent to be bound by its offer and therefore could be rejected by a…

Contractors are often concerned that filing a pre-award protest might hurt their relationship with the government customer and, as a result, sometimes take a risk in responding to what they think is an unclear or unattainable solicitation requirement. A recent GAO decision serves as a reminder that contractors who fail…

As the Government Fiscal “New Year” October 1st approaches, September typically finds government contracting officers exercising options for another year of contract performance. Years of working with government contract clients and teaching government contracting officers have shown me that, often, neither party understands how an option is legally exercised. Nor…

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, ___ U.S. ___, No. 16-1466 (27 June 2018) Which is more important: First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of association or the funding of public employee unions?  When can freedom of speech and freedom of…

Collins v. Virginia, ____ U.S. ____, No. 16-1027 (29 May 2018) This criminal case began when Ryan Collins bought a motorcycle without a title under circumstances alerting a reasonable person that the motorcycle was stolen.  The motorcycle had a distinctive appearance.  It was orange and black with an extended frame. …

An unsuccessful offeror recently learned that, although an agency can voluntarily give unsuccessful offerors debriefing information that is more than what the debriefing rules require, doing so does not change the GAO deadlines that a protester must meet. The protest involved the DoD Enhanced Debriefing Rights. Unsuccessful offerors in DoD…