The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) recently tackled a contractor’s claim for pre-construction costs following termination for convenience by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In Pro-Built Construction Firm (June 1, 2017), the Board addressed a dispute arising out of a 2011 contract to construct a police station in Afghanistan. Eight months after … Continue Reading
In a recent Missouri appellate decision, the court recognized and reaffirmed the Spearin Doctrine which provides that an owner impliedly warrants the adequacy of plans and specifications it provides to a contractor. In Penzel Construction v. Jackson R-2 School District et al., No. ED103878 (Mo. Ct. App. Feb. 14, 2017), a general contractor sued a … Continue Reading
On April 18, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order (No. 13788). The Order requires agencies to do a wholesale evaluation of their compliance with “Buy American” laws and to develop additional policies and procedures to maximize the use of American materials and manufactured products. As part … Continue Reading
We recently reported on a lawsuit, filed by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), challenging the “blacklisting” Executive Order and the implementing regulations. As we noted in our article, a ruling by the Court on ABC’s request for a preliminary injunction should be issued in short order, given that the effective date for the implementing … Continue Reading
As we recently reported, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has published a final rule, effective October 25, 2016, implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (also known as the “blacklisting” Executive Order). Not surprisingly, the final rule – which allows private citizens to report alleged labor violations by federal contractors and requires federal … Continue Reading
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the Department of Labor published a final rule, implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (also known as the “blacklisting” Executive Order), on August 24, 2016. The Executive Order, implemented by the final rule, requires federal prime contractors and subcontractors – including federal construction contractors – under … Continue Reading
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently published its much-anticipated final rule establishing a mentor-protégé program available to all small businesses, not just certain SBA-approved 8(a) contractors as is the case under the current program. The SBA’s new “universal” mentor-protégé program will be separate from, but very similar to, the SBA’s current 8(a) mentor-protégé program. … Continue Reading
You are officially on notice—the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is going to share your data with other federal agencies. What data, you ask? The OFCCP annually selects numerous federal contractors to evaluate their compliance with affirmative action regulations. It gets the data by sending a Scheduling Letter and … Continue Reading
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ (ASBCA) recent decision in Dick Pacific Constr. Co., Ltd, serves as an important reminder to federal construction contractors that keeping consistent and detailed daily logs is essential and can mean the difference between winning and losing a given case. This ASBCA decision is a useful reminder to contractors … Continue Reading
In the past few years, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) regulations have mandated that DoD contractors and subcontractors rapidly report cyber incidents to the government. That trend continues and may spread to civilian agencies in the future. To facilitate a coordinated and expedited response and to comply with regulatory and contractual requirements, every company should … Continue Reading
A 286-page Notice of Proposed Rule Making will be issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in the Federal Register on February 25, 2016. The DOL estimates that 437,000 employees of federal contractors will begin to receive paid sick leave who presently do not receive any. The proposed regulations implementing Executive Order 13706 applies to … Continue Reading
Federal contractors—recheck your compliance because there is a regulation (effective January 11, 2016) implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13665—Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information. The Executive Order prohibits covered federal contractors from discriminating against or discharging employees for discussing their compensation. You should read the executive summary and text of the final rule, but here … Continue Reading
Subcontractors filing Miller Act lawsuits in the U.S. must generally do so in the federal district court where the contract from which the dispute arose was “performed and executed.” 40 USC §§ 3131-3134 However, on contracts performed outside of the U.S., the court that is the proper venue for a Miller Act lawsuit can be … Continue Reading
