Redstone Government Consulting Blog (39)

In January of this year (2021), we told you that the United States Department of Labor (DOL) under the Trump administration announced a final rule clarifying the standard for whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This rule reaffirmed the “economic reality” test as the primary factor for determining employee status. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 7, 2021 and the Rule was set to have an effective date of March 8, 2021.

If having unbilled receivables is a new concept based on your experience with other software systems, you may find it a relief that having an unbilled balance is not necessarily bad or wrong. Unbilled Receivables is the offsetting account for billing and revenue postings in Deltek Costpoint. When a billing is posted, the Billed Receivables account is debited, and Unbilled Receivables account is credited. For the revenue posting, the Unbilled Receivables account is debited and Revenue account credited. Hence, if the billing and revenue posting amounts are the same, the offsetting Unbilled Receivables account will be zero. That sounds great, however, there may be situations where billing and revenue do not or should not match, which then creates a balance in the Unbilled Receivables account. So, when is it okay to see an Unbilled Receivables balance?

Overview:

• EEOC launches new landing page that is a one-stop-shop for information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity workplace rights.
• The White House seeks to continue providing remote work opportunities for federal employees.
• The DOL makes plans to update the DBA and Related Acts Regulations.
• EEO-1 data collection is now open and due July 19^th.
• US Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act in California v. Texas.
• Juneteenth is now a federal holiday.

Have questions regarding what travel costs are allowable? Do you think the travel regulations say you can never have first-class airfare reimbursed? Or do you think the regulation says you are restricted to a compact rental car? For the answer to these questions and more, check out our video on travel regulations and myths!

What is SAM.gov?

SAM.gov is the System for Award Management (SAM) in which businesses must register to contract with the US Government and for non-profits to receive grants. The registration is valid for one year and must be renewed annually. It is recommended to renew 45-60 days prior to expiration.

Recent Northrop Appeal

Northrop attempted to open up a dialog with Government as to the allowability of litigation settlement costs it planned to include in its 2019-2023 Sector Home Office Allocation Submission. Of course, Northrop believed the cost was allowable, and the Corporate Administrative Contracting Officer (CACO) believed the costs to be unallowable.

The Finding of Concern –

While the decision in the case (ASBCA, 21-1 BCA ¶37,823 Hollymatic Corporation, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, (Mar. 22, 2021)) did not specifically rest on this finding; the board stated:

“Our reading of the solicitation is also supported by the fact this was a commercial acquisition pursuant to FAR Part 12 and the definition of a commercial item (product) in FAR 2.101, paragraph 1, requires the item to have been “sold, leased, or licensed to the general public; or has been offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public” (i.e., to presently exist in the market) (finding 2)”

A selective review and reference to this case by DCAA or DCMA could lead to the impression that for a product (i.e., item) to meet the FAR 2.101 definition of a commercial item the product must be completely developed and currently offered for sale in the commercial marketplace.

The National Institutes of Health Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) released its long-awaited Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partners (CIO-SP4) program on May 25, 2021. Phase I of the evaluation of offeror proposals will consist of validation of the offeror’s completed self-scoring sheet and ranking the offerors based on this scoring. Only the highest rated offerors will advance to phase 2 of the evaluation. Accordingly, every point counts!

Overview:

• EEOC increases the monetary penalty for violating notice-posting requirements. 
• On May 18, 2021, the IRS released guidance regarding tax relief provided by the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" for COBRA-related continuation of health coverage.
• OSHA released new guidance on employer requirement to record adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccination if the employer requires employees to take the vaccine.
• The Department of Health and Human Services announced, "the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX's prohibitions on discrimination based on sex to include: (1) discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination on the basis of gender identity."
• The CDC provided updated guidance for fully-vaccinated individuals on May 13, 2021, relaxing the recommendations for wearing face masks and social distancing. 

For many contractors (truly, for any business), any event with the word “Audit” in the name has a scary connotation. And when you add DCAA to that, a contractor’s blood pressure may automatically rise. However, the best way to rock an audit is to understand what it is for and be prepared for it.