PNWC’s Government Contracting Update - page 57

In our last two postings, we discussed last Friday’s regulation dump where the FAR regulators presented us with a fiscal year-end gift. On Friday we discussed the prohibition against awarding contracts to companies with delinquent taxes or felony convictions. Yesterday we discussed the prohibition against retaliating against employees who share their compensation information with one another. Today we take up the new regulation on contractor employee compensation caps.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Final Rule on Compensation Limits on Post- June 2014 Contracts

Last week the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) Councils published a spate of new regulations. We discussed one of those last Friday (see Prohibition on Contracting with Delinquent Taxpayers and Felons) and will continue our coverage this week on several that directly affect Government contractors (and prospective contractors). Today we’ll discuss the new prohibition on retaliating against employees who disclose or discuss compensation matters. Now you might think that this is old news and it is, in a way. In 2014, the President issued an executive order (E.O.) called “Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information“. That was followed in September 2015 with the Department of Labor’s implementing rule entitled “Government Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions“. So, why is it necessary to add more rules; rules upon rules? The FAR Council’s rationalize it this way:

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: New Regulation Preventing Contractors From Retaliating Against Employees Who Disclose their Compensation Level

Last December, the FAR Councils published an interim rule that prohibits the Federal Government from entering into a contract with any corporation having a delinquent Federal tax liability or a felony conviction under any Federal law, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. This prohibition was required to implement sections of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Prohibition on Contracting with Delinquent Taxpayers and Felons

In August 2014, a contractor plead guilty for using fronting companies to secure 45 contracts totaling $23 million that were set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs). In June 2015, a Grand Jury indicted three people from Puerto Rico for the same kind of scheme – calling it a multi-million dollar fraud. Just last month, the Justice Department announced another similar scheme where a company owner used stolen names and social security numbers to obtain $3 million in contracts that had been set aside for SDVOSBs.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Another “Rent-a-Vet” Scam Uncovered

The Department of Defense (DoD) published a proposed rule regarding its Mentor-Protege program last week. The Mentor-Protege program has been around since 1991 and was intended to provide incentives to major DoD contractors to furnish eligible small business – primarily disadvantaged small business -concerns with assistance designed to enhance the capabilities of eligible small business concerns to perform as subcontractors and suppliers under DoD contracts (and subcontracts) and to increase the participation of such business concerns as subcontractors and suppliers under DoD contracts as well as non-DoD contracts and commercial contracts.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Changes Coming to DoD’s Mentor-Protege Program

Competitive solicitations are evaluated based on stated criteria and each criteria is ranked in order of importance. Each of those criteria may contain sub-factors which themselves are ranked in order of importance. Besides rankings in importance, the criteria are also ranked in significance to other evaluation criteria. Thus a solicitation might provide something along the lines of the technical evaluation criteria are to be considered significantly more important than cost.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Protester Must Establish that a Flawed Government Evaluation was Prejudicial

The Department of Energy (DOE) just released an update to a chapter in its “Acquisition Guide” that significantly expands on the criteria for determining the allowability of legal costs claimed as reimbursable by DOE contractors.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Energy Department Updates Guidance on Legal Cost Allowability

The Department of Defense amended its FAR Supplement (DFARS) with a final rule that implements a section from the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that prohibits any form of cost-plus contracting for military construction projects or military family housing projects. Cost-plus contracts include (i) cost-plus-incentive-fee, (ii) cost-plus-fixed-fee, and (iii) cost-plus-award fee contracts.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: DoD Prohibition on Use of Cost-Type Contracts for Construction

Yesterday, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice announcing the applicable minimum wage rate to be paid to contractor employees performing work on or in connection with Government contracts.

That rate which becomes effective on January 1, 2017 will increase by $0.10 per hour from $10.10 to $10.20 per hour.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Mandatory Pay Raises for Many Contractor Minimum-Wage Employees

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) had a DOE (Department of Energy) contract to provide occupational medical services at DOE’s Hanford site. A couple of employees at the clinic were removed from the workplace after reporting numerous failures with a new electronic medical records system to their supervisor and the Department of Energy. These two workers alleged that the new system could put worker health and safety at risk. Their concerns were “brushed aside” by management and the new system was ultimately deployed over their objections.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Contractor’s Defense was an Astonishing Display of Chutzpay