Redstone Government Consulting Blog (31)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in October 2021 that they are following through on the launch of the DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative. This initiative is being used to pursue cybersecurity related fraud when Government contractors and subcontractors knowingly fail to comply with cybersecurity requirements, through the use of the False Claims Act (FCA). The DOJ is asking individuals (yes that means your employees) to focus their attention on potential cyber security noncompliance under the False Claims Act. It only takes one upset employee to report that you are not complying with your reported cybersecurity practices or have an unreported cyber-attack affecting covered defense information. Contractor employees who file a qui tam suit can receive a government payment incentive of 15 to 30 percent of the recovery. There has already been one reported contractor settlement resolving a qui tam suit for a company failing to meet federal cybersecurity standards.

Have you considered populating the contracts module in Unanet with your data, but haven’t taken the time to do it yet? Let’s talk through the benefits of using the Contracts module.

The recent memo from the Defense Pricing Center (DPC) has created quite the stir around the current economic uncertainties in the government contractor community tied to inflation. The unfortunate reality is that for many years, economically speaking, the risk of inflation has been a steady 2-3% and so both contractors and the acquisition professionals on the other side have not had to realistically consider this factor in pricing/negotiating contracts. History has shown us that the threat is all too real and can cause significant hurdles for contractors to weather an inflationary period like we saw in the 80s, early nineties and as recently as 2009. The question of is it transitory or are we headed toward a recession is best left to our friend the magic 8-ball, but I do think there are a few things that all contractors should be aware of during this time.

This video and article are the first of a two-part series where we provide an overview of the Department of Labor (DoL) position on independent contractor classifications. This series presents a mock audit to give you a first-hand perspective of the types of questions that DoL investigators ask with regard to the all too common issue of whether or not your workers are properly classified under the law. We will provide "red flags" that are often key to the final determination of Department of Labor, and how to address them.

There seems to be a lot of questions and misconceptions about purchase orders and subcontracts. Is there a difference? When is it appropriate to issue either instrument?

Recent Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) cases have rejected contractor requests for equitable adjustments (REAs) related to the impact of COVID-19 on contract performance under firm fixed price (FFP) contracts. In both cases, discussed below, the ASBCA turned to the Connor Bros. Federal Circuit decision (550 F.3d 1368 (2008)). In that decision the Federal Circuit found the act of the Sovereign Government does not result in an act of the Government as a contracting party. Therefore, under the “Changes” clause (FAR 52.243-1, Changes-Fixed-Price) that was in Connor’s contract this did not give rise to an equitable adjustment in the contract price. The basis of the Connor Bros. decision and the two recent cases is the “Sovereign Acts Doctrine.”

Katie Donnell and I attended the Unanet Champions Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, May 1-3, 2022. Unanet Champions started out with an amazing motivational speaker, Carey Lohrenz. Carey was the 1st Female F14 Pilot in the US Navy. Carey overcame many obstacles as the 1st Female F14 Pilot. Talk about inspiration! As someone who was used to flying at Mach 2, working in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment, she spoke about adapting quickly to avoid risks and shared steps in leadership that will help your team win every time.

The FAR Council published a final rule on March 7, 2022, implementing revisions to the Buy American Act. The final rule strengthens the impact of Federal procurement preferences for products and construction materials domestically manufactured from substantially all domestic content and is effective October 25, 2022.

Overview

• The 2021 EEO-1 data collection period closed on May 17, 2022, but there’s still time to file your report if you missed the deadline!
• The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCP) has released a new Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (CSAL) for Supply and Service Contractors.
• Covered federal contractors must certify their Affirmative Action Plans (AAP) through the OFCCP Contractor Portal by June 30, 2022. Please contact our HR Team if you need assistance with your AAP or the certification process.
• The US House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act on March 18, 2022.