By Howard W. Roth on January 6, 2017 | Posted in Bid Protests
Two pieces of federal legislation that recently became law will have a major impact on government contractors seeking to protest Department of Defense (DoD) and Civilian Agencies task order awards. Some changes are for the worse, others are for the better. However, the best news for contractors is probably that […]
By Howard W. Roth on October 26, 2016 | Posted in Labor
Starting October 25th many new federal government contract solicitations were to contain the clauses required under the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule based on the Executive Order put in place by the Obama administration. These clauses would impose significant new compliance and reporting obligations on federal contractors (and […]
By Howard W. Roth on September 12, 2016 | Posted in Legislative and Regulatory Developments
On September 2, 2016, the Department of Defense (the “DoD”) issued a memorandum entitled “Guidance on Commercial Item Determinations and the Determination of Price Reasonableness for Commercial Items.” This new guidance effectively rescinds prior guidance issued by the DoD in February 2015 regarding commercial item determinations, and to preview guidance […]
By Howard W. Roth on August 22, 2016 | Posted in Claims and Disputes
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeal’s (ASBCA) decision in BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle Systems LP, ASBCA Nos. 59491, 60433 (July 25, 2016), denying the government’s motion to stay appeals due to a parallel False Claims Act (FCA) case in federal district court is an important reminder that the agency […]
By Howard W. Roth on March 4, 2016 | Posted in Intellectual Property
From a contractor’s perspective, intellectual property (IP) is a valuable corporate asset that can be used to generate revenue, create a competitive advantage, create barriers to entry by competitors, and act as a deterrent to litigation. The Government also needs to consider IP issues during the acquisition planning process to […]
By Howard W. Roth on October 29, 2015 | Posted in Claims and Disputes
On October 20, 2015, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) released its Annual Report of Transactions and Proceedings for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2015. The report indicates that the number of appeals pending have more than doubled since 2011, but that the increase has slowed considerably […]
By Howard W. Roth on January 13, 2015 | Posted in Bid Protests
Last month, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied a post-award bid protest of a contract set aside by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for AbilityOne Program contractors. The court found the government correctly considered the impact of the award on the incumbent contractor, an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), and […]
By Howard W. Roth on January 8, 2015 | Posted in Small Business
The Veteran’s Administration (VA) administers the “Veterans First” Service-Disabled-Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) verification program. The VA’s program requires companies to apply for verification through the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) and to re-certify every two years. The CVE’s verification process is challenging and […]
By Howard W. Roth on December 19, 2014 | Posted in Legislative and Regulatory Developments
On December 12, 2014, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015. The $585 billion bill funds the Pentagon’s activities in FY 2015. Within this massive bill, there are number of items of interest to government contractors, including: Design Build Contracting. Section 814 gives contracting officers more authority to […]
By Howard W. Roth on June 30, 2014 | Posted in Legislative and Regulatory Developments
Section 1614 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (NDAA) offers advantages to small business subcontractors as well as prime contractors, by allowing primes to count second tier small businesses subcontracts toward their small business subcontracting goals. Previously, primes could only count first tier small business subcontractors […]