Small Business

With inflation surging to the highest level in over 40 years, there is heightened focus on how to equitably balance risk between the government and the contractor.  This is particularly a concern when it comes to fixed-price contracts, where contractors generally bear the risk of cost increases, including inflation. Unless the contract states otherwise,...

The Department of Defense (“DoD”) released its “Equity Action Plan” (the “Equity Plan”) which was developed to ensure the creation of “opportunities for all Americans.” This Equity Plan was developed in response to President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order 13985 – “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” The...

As most government contractors know, government customers frequently amend solicitations—often multiple times and sometimes after proposals have already been submitted.  These multiple amendments can extend the solicitation period by months or even years. So what happens when the solicitation is a small business set-aside and the offeror could certify as small at the time...

Congressional Democrats Seek Increased Oversight Into Crypto Matters Following Ransomware Attacks A group of Democratic senators and congressmen are calling on the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Department of the Treasury, and Homeland Security to beef up efforts to protect against the recent wave of ransomware attacks. The group, comprised of senators...

On September 30, 2021, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (“CAAC”) released a memorandum authorizing all civilian United States government agencies to issue a class deviation to implement Executive Order 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors.” Attached to the CAAC memo is a FAR Deviation Clause (the “Clause”) that CAAC states “is...

On Thursday, September 9, 2021, President Biden announced new federal COVID-19 vaccination requirements, outlined below, which will be incumbent on federal government contractors and their employees, federal branch employees, as well as private sector employers with over 100 employees. Federal Government Contractors President Biden signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for...