Government Contracts

If Congress cannot pass a new funding plan by October 1, 2023 (the start of the federal fiscal year), the Government will “shut down” financially at 12:01 A.M. and that shut-down will last until Congress signs a new funding bill into law. The question is—what do you do as a government contractor when faced...

Applications for the Small Business Administration (“SBA”)’s 8(a) program are currently on hold as the SBA develops its response to a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (the “district court”) finding one element of the program unconstitutional.  The district court’s decision is somewhat old news, at least in...

“For scienter, it is enough if respondents believed that their claims were not accurate.” 1 - Justice Thomas On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on the ongoing False Claims Act (“FCA”) scienter issues (the “Opinion”) – i.e., does a company’s objective or subjective knowledge matter regarding whether its submissions to...

On May 1, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it will be ending the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for “Federal employees, Federal Contractors, and international air travelers.” This will likely bring an end to a months-long period of litigation and confusion for Federal Contractors. In September 2021, President Biden had issued Executive Order 14042 which...

The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In September 2022, Ward & Berry explained the possibility of the Supreme Court taking on a second FCA case¹ this term, and why we should care about it. Short answer: The “knowledge” aspect of the FCA is under heavy debate and any resolution...

Last chance for Federal Contractors to object to the release of their EEO-1 Reports by OFCCP in response to the Center of Investigative Reporting’s FOIA request. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (“OFCCP”) is giving federal contractors two last chances to respond to its August 19, 2022 Federal Register Notice calling for objections...