On December 23, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed into law the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as Public Law No. 117-7776, which included Section 822: “Modification of Contracts to Provide Extraordinary Relief Due to Inflation Impacts.” This section temporarily gives new discretionary authority to the secretary of defense to modify firm fixed-price
Government Contracts
FAR Council Issues Final Rule on Accelerated Payments to Small Businesses
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council recently published a final rule to implement a policy that provides for accelerated payments to small business prime contractors and small business subcontractors. This noteworthy final rule — which has an effective date of March 16, 2023 — is discussed below.
Background
The Department of Defense (DoD), the General…
COVID-19 May Be Over, but Fight Over the Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Is Not
On January 30, 2023, the Biden administration stated that it intends to extend the previously declared COVID-19 national emergency and the separately declared public health emergency until May 11, 2023, and then end both emergency declarations. This statement comes in response to Congressional attempts to declare an earlier end date to the emergencies with the…
DOD Issues Guidance for ESOP Pilot Program
On November 8, 2022, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a memorandum that provides details on a pilot program that allows government contractors owned 100% by an S-corporation employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to receive a noncompetitive award for certain follow-on contracts. According to the memorandum, the program is limited to only nine “entities,” and…
Update on Bid Protests in Alabama
We previously published an overview of the bid protest procedures in the State of Alabama and noted that the existing laws and regulations were repealed and replaced effective October 1, 2022. This article provides a brief update on these revised statutory and regulatory processes and procedures that bidders should be aware of.
Applicability of the
…Takeaways from GAO’s FY 2022 Bid Protest Report
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its annual bid protest report. As discussed below, this year’s report is noteworthy for multiple reasons, including that it shows that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in fiscal year (FY) 2022.
Aron Beezley Named as Law360’s 2022 MVP Winner for Government Contracts
Aron C. Beezley, co-leader of the firm’s Government Contracts Practice Group and a partner in the Washington, D.C. office, has been named a 2022 Law360 MVP of the Year winner in the Government Contracts category.
The 12th annual Law360 MVP Awards recognize attorneys across the country who have distinguished themselves from their peers by making…
PPP Fraud and Appeals Update
While 2020 is (fortunately) in the rearview mirror, issues involving the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are (unfortunately) not going away any time soon. This article provides a brief update on two of the most currently active areas — fraud enforcement actions and PPP appeals — in…
Virginia Is for Lovers… of Strict Contract Language: New Law Prohibits Pay-if-Paid Clauses in Construction Contracts
Virginia has joined the growing number of states that prohibit “pay-if-paid” clauses. The new law, known as Virginia Senate Bill 550, amends Virginia’s Prompt Payment Act (Va. Code § 2.2-4354) and its relatively new (July 1, 2020) wage theft statute (Va. Code § 11-4.6) and applies to public construction contracts and private construction contracts that…
New DoD Guidance on Inflation and Economic Price Adjustments
In response to industry questions about economic price adjustments for inflation, the Department of Defense (DoD) recently issued Guidance on Inflation and Economic Price Adjustments. Key takeaways from DoD’s guidance — which aims to help contracting officers (COs) “understand whether it is appropriate to recognize cost increases due to inflation under existing contracts as…