On March 2, 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report highlighting necessary improvements to effectively implement the Whistleblower Protections Pilot Program (WPPP). The WPPP, introduced in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, and made permanent by Congress in December 2016, expanded whistleblower rights against reprisal for employees of contractors, subcontractors, and grantees. That same year, the FAR was also amended to require contracting officials to include a contract clause requiring contractors to communicate to their employees their rights under the WPPP in contracts exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold and awarded after September 30, 2013. The WPPP also required agencies use best efforts to include the FAR clause in major contract modifications of existing contracts.
Federal Circuit Clarifies Meaning of “Full and Open,” Limits on Government Ability to Manipulate the Competitive Marketplace, and Contours of FAR Part 6 | Government Contracts Legal Forum
Last month, in National Government Services, Inc. (“NGS”) v. United States—a pre-award bid protest handled by
