Effective July 21, 2023, DHS is operating under new rules for government contractors on safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and reporting cyber incidents. In this Feature Comment for The Government Contractor, Alex Major describes how government contractors can best navigate
Government Contracts Law
Developments in Government Contracts & Export Controls Law
Latest from Government Contracts Law - Page 2
SBA Cries Time Out! Temporary Suspension of New 8(a) Applications Following Ultima Servs.
As many GovCon news junkies following recent events had predicted, the Small Business Administration (SBA) just “temporarily suspended” new 8(a) application submissions. For those of you who haven’t been following along the past two weeks, this critically important development might…
TikTok Dances Off of Contractor IT Devices—Interim Rule Prohibits ByteDance Limited Applications
By Cara Wulf
On June 2, 2023, the FAR Council issued an Interim Rule to implement the prohibition on having or using TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited (covered application). Importantly, the prohibition applies not only…
Blessing or Burden? GAO Decision Casts New Light on Joint Venture Experience
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) recently issued MiamiTSPi, LLC-Reconsideration, an important decision concerning a procuring agency’s obligation to consider, when evaluating a joint venture, the experience of not only the joint venture itself but also the individual joint venture…
The False Claims Act’s Fuzzy Scienter Element Brought into Sharp Focus
By Alex Major & Matt Wright
Parties litigating False Claims Act (FCA) cases have long struggled with a thorny question around the essential element of scienter (the defendant’s intent, or state of mind): What/how much does a contractor need to know when submitting an invoice for…
Ostensible Clarity: SBA Rule Addresses Ostensible Subcontractor Rule in General Construction Contracts and DoverStaffing Factors
In a previous post, we mentioned the April 27, 2023 Small Business Administration (SBA) Final Rule, which made a number of revisions to the Small Business Regulations. A few of those revisions relate to the Ostensible Subcontractor Rule,…
NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3: Not Another Reboot
By Alex Major
Hollywood is full of them. And unless you are trapped on the Planet of the Apes, caught on the 3:10 to Yuma, or running from Godzilla, you’ve probably seen a movie reboot or two over the past two decades. The…
No Harm, No Fraud: The Supreme Court Narrows the Application of the Wire Fraud Statute and Unanimously Overrules the “Right to Control” Theory
By Matt Wright
Most experienced contractors have a healthy fear of the various types of fraud claims: False Claims Act, federal and state wire and mail fraud, common law fraud, etc. They know that enforcement authorities are always looking for ways to swing…
Small Business Contractors Rejoice or Repent: Final SBA Rule Adds Teeth to 13 CFR 125.6 Subcontracting Limitations
By Maria Panichelli & Liza
On April 27, 2023, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule, finalizing a September 9, 2022 proposed rule, and making a myriad of changes to the Small Business Regulations. Those changes are effective at the end…
Sometimes Post-Proposal Communications Are More Than Sweet Nothings …
As most government contractors have experienced firsthand, procuring agencies routinely engage in a wide variety of communications after bids have been submitted. On occasion, these exchanges are quite minor and afford an offeror the limited opportunity to clarify aspects of…