Redstone Government Consulting Blog (36)

Overview

• In accordance with EO 14042 and the latest updates from the Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce, federal contractors must ensure their employees are fully-vaccinated no later than January 18, 2022 (as opposed to January 4, 2022).
• Due to a stay by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, all activities related to the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS have been suspended.
• The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is considering permanent approval for remote I-9 verification.
• The US DOL Wage and Hour Division has announced a final rule to implement Executive Order 14026 that will increase the federal contractor hourly minimum wage to $15.
• The Biden Administration has reinstated the Executive Order pertaining to Non-displacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts.
• The US Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have come together to end workplace retaliation and promote workers’ rights.

Heather Stroud is a Senior Consultant in Redstone Government Consulting's Deltek Costpoint group. She primarily works in the Accounting, Projects, and Planning modules for Deltek Costpoint. The Costpoint Group works with our clients to implement Deltek Costpoint, create customized training, and assist with day-to-day processing. This two-part video and article discuss some common Deltek Costpoint questions and complaints we hear from our clients.

Did you miss Part 1? You can view it here

Well, here we are again – at the end of another year. And while we are busy here at RGCI helping clients with everything from closing out 2021 books to budgeting for 2022, we pause to look back and give thanks for another year. At RGCI, we have had more babies born this year, more of our kids graduate high school or college, and more weddings. We have enjoyed these moments with our clients also. Yes, you talk to someone 1-2 times a week, and you get to know them very fast. We are so thankful for all we have been blessed with in 2021.

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS) Business Systems have come into focus as DCAA and DCMA increase their audits of these business systems. This blog will help to provide the specific requirements of the Material Management Accounting System (MMAS) and the difference in MMAS and other business system reviews.

DCAA has caught up on their incurred cost backlog and is concentrating effort on Truth in Negotiations Audits (i.e., Defective Pricing). The objective of the Truth in Negotiations audit is to determine whether a negotiated contract price was increased by a significant amount because a contractor did not submit or disclose current, accurate or complete cost or pricing data.

On October 4, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed an amendment to its Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement to support the HHS Electronic Invoicing Implementation Project and HHS’s transition to the Department of the Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform. This rule would add HHS Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) Subpart 332.70 (which is comprised of HHSAR 332.7000 through 332.7003) Electronic Submission and Processing of Payment Requests to provide policies and procedures for these requests.

Heather Stroud is a Senior Consultant in the Deltek Costpoint group at Redstone Government Consulting. She primarily works in the Accounting, Projects, and Planning modules. Redstone GCI's Costpoint Group works with our clients to implement Deltek Costpoint, create customized training, and assist with day-to-day processing. This two-part video and article discuss some common Deltek Costpoint questions and complaints we hear from our clients.

The Redstone GCI Costpoint group recently attended a Deltek partner meeting to learn more about the changes coming in the latest 8.1 version release. A highly requested feature from our client base, this update contains real time integration of data between Costpoint and Time & Expense. The system will no longer need to pass data back and forth for UDTs (User Defined Tables) 1-11, which include the major master data of Account, Project, PLC, Pay Type, and Organization.

Wage Determination Clauses Can Bite You

What is the spookiest and scariest story for a government contractor? How about a story where the government imposes an expense on a contractor, but doesn’t allow for consideration of this expense in the contract value? So, in layman’s terms, losing money (profit) on government contracts. In a recent ASBCA decision, this is exactly what happened.

Overview

• The deadline of December 8, 2021 requiring Federal contractor employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is quickly approaching.
• The proposed OSHA vaccine mandate for private employers is NOT YET in effect.
• The EEOC recently updated their Technical Assistance Questions and Answers that address questions about religious objections to employer COVID-19 vaccine requirements and how they interact with federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws.