- On September 25, 2020, the Department of Labor’s proposed rule clarifying whether a worker is an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act or an independent contract was published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule, the Department seeks to adopt an “economic reality” test to determine this status, as well as identify core factors to help determine if a worker is economically dependent on someone else’s business or is in business for himself or herself. The proposed rule also provides that the “actual practice” is more relevant than what is contractually or even theoretically “possible” in making this determination. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available for review and public comment for 30 days. The Department encourages interested parties to submit comments on all aspects of the proposed rule and reminds them that such comments must be submitted on or before October 26, 2020 to be considered.
- On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) seeking to end what is characterized in the Order as "training sessions based on race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating" in the federal workforce, the Uniformed Services, and among federal contractors. The EO provides that it will be the policy of the United States "not to promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating" in the federal workforce and the Uniformed Services, and not to let grant funds to be used for these purposes. Except in contracts exempted in the manner provided by Section 204 of Executive Order 11246, as amended, the EO also provides that all government contracting agencies must, among other things, include in every government contract specific language, including that the contractor "shall not use any workplace training that inculcates in its employees any form of race or sex stereotyping or any form of race or sex scapegoating, including the concepts" that are specifically delineated in the EO as "divisive." We will provide further guidance and suggestions related to this new Executive Order soon. A full copy of the Order may be viewed here.
Sheri joined Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. in December 2012 as a Human Resources Consultant. She provides HR consulting services to our customers on a wide range of issues, from specific projects to an ongoing outsourced solution of the human resources function. Sheri has two decades of experience in providing a comprehensive assessment of all areas of HR, including establishing and implementing policies and practices, contract transition efforts/onboarding, and investigations. Sheri’s experience covers a broad spectrum of compensation planning and analysis for total compensation projects, reasonableness assessments including executive compensation, compensation philosophy development, total reward strategies, benefits analysis, market pay and pay equity evaluations. She regularly supports clients with the analysis and mapping of labor categories and the preparation and analysis of wage calculations and supports clients in pricing disputes with DCAA. Sheri has a wealth of experience in navigating the many compliance challenges associated with Service Contract Act and Davis Bacon Act. She has been a valuable resource to our clients in all these areas. She stays abreast of the various requirements of the Department of Labor and, of great importance to government contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, as well as other federal and state regulations impacting human resources. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Sheri served in various roles in the Human Resources arena. While employed by a mid-size government contractor she assisted with database development, recruiting, affirmative action planning and contract proposals. Sheri later became an Employment Specialist with one of the largest employers in Huntsville, where she assisted and led managers in the interpretation and documentation of the progressive disciplinary process, conducted employee investigations and allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and employee disputes, conducted unemployment hearings and conducted new employee orientation. Sheri developed and presented management training, administered facility compensation plan, monitored staffing budgets and wrote job descriptions and handbook revisions.
About Redstone GCI
Redstone GCI is a consulting firm focused on fulfilling the needs of government contractors in all areas of compliance. With a singular mission to help contractors through the multiple layers of “red tape,” we allow contractors to focus on what they do best – support their mission with the U.S. Government. We are home to a group of consultants made up of GovCon industry professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and retired government audit and acquisition professionals.
Our focus and knowledge of audit and compliance functions administered by DCAA and DCMA will always be at the heart of what we do. However, for the past decade, we’ve strategically grown to support other areas of the government contractor back-office with that same level of focus and expertise. We’ve added expertise in contracts management, subcontract administration, proposal pricing, various software systems, HR and employment law, property administration, manufacturing, data analytics/reporting, Grant specialists, M&A, and many other areas. When we see a trend in the needs of contractors, we act to ensure we can provide the best expertise in the market to fulfill those needs.
One thing our clients can be certain of is that with the Redstone GCI Team in your corner, there is no problem too big and no issue too technical for our team to tackle.
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