The Contractor's Perspective, published by Husch Blackwell LLP, focuses on legal issues affecting contractors engaged in government and private sector projects. The blog covers topics such as federal contract compliance, government shutdown impacts on contractors, cybersecurity requirements like CMMC, labor and employment law including WARN Act compliance, and regulatory changes affecting disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) programs. It also addresses risk management, contract rights and remedies, public-private partnerships, and alternative project delivery methods. The content is aimed at helping contractors navigate complex legal and regulatory environments related to construction, federal procurement, and infrastructure projects.
The FAR Council and the Department of Labor have published the final versions of their respective final rule and DOL guidance implementing the President’s July 2014 Executive Order entitled “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces”—EO 13673.
Detractors frequently refer…
Under a final rule published on July 25, 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Mentor-Protégé Program is now open to all small businesses. See 81 Fed. Reg. 48558 (July 25, 2016). This significant expansion can be expected to provide…
Contract Disputes Act claims are subject to a six-year statute of limitations. While the math involved in calculating when that limitations period runs seems easy, determining when a CDA claim accrued is not always so simple. FAR 33.201 defines “accrual…
Three standard clauses used in virtually all Postal Service surface transportation contracts are now on the chopping block. In an interim ruling, the Court of Federal Claims ordered the Postal Service to show why these three clauses should not be…
A new Final Rule addressing sex discrimination in employment by federal contractors and subcontractors will go into effect on August 15, 2016. The new Final Rule was published by DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. It implements Executive Order…
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, No. 15-7 (U.S. June 16, 2016), upholds the viability of the implied certification theory of False Claims Act liability. But it also makes cases…
The Department of Labor has issued its final rule amending the overtime and exemption regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Although the final rule differs in some ways from the July 2015 proposed rule, it will have significant administrative…
GAO has announced a series of proposed amendments to its bid protest regulations. The changes are prompted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2014, one section of which required GAO to establish an electronic filing system. But the amendments…
[UPDATE: The Supreme Court resolved the Escobar case in a unanimous decision published on June 16, 2015. A link to our discussion of the Court’s opinion is available here.]
In some courts in the United States today, a government…
We have previously written about the Department of Labor’s effort to expand the scope of its regulatory and enforcement jurisdiction over government contractors against the wishes of Congress and even fellow federal agencies. The United States Court of Appeals…
