Redstone Government Consulting Blog (70)

On April 30, 2015, a US District Court Judge in Delaware granted a United States motion to dismiss an FTCA claim (Federal Torts Claim Act) filed by KBRS (Kellogg Brown and Root Services).   The government’s motion to dismiss was premised upon jurisdictional issues; in particular discretionary functions on the part of a government official are exemptions to the FTCA.   The litigation involved a two count complaint by KBRS; i) damages arising from a negligent DCAA audit and ii) damages caused by the negligent DCAA audit resulting in a Department of Justice investigation under the False Claims Act.   Although the litigation involved a number of other issues (in addition to the allegedly negligent DCAA audit report), none of those issues were debated once the District Court determined that it did not have jurisdiction over actions exempt from the FTCA.

A Prospective View of Model Employer (Government Contractor)

On April 15, 2015, members of the self-proclaimed Congressional Progressive Caucus called for an Executive Order (EO) which would define a model employer and provide model employers with preferences in terms of government contract awards.  The Progressive Caucus envisions an EO which would define a model employer to include a minimum wage of $15/hour, other benefits including paid time off, full-time hours and predictable schedules.  As noted by this Caucus, the 2014 EO which raised the minimum wage to $10.10/hour for employees of government contractors was simply not enough to eliminate stagnant wages which tether jobs to poverty and government assistance. 

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

Though multiple legislative efforts have failed in amending Title VII to include sexual orientation and gender-identity to the list of protected classes which cannot be discriminated against, President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13672, signed on July 21, 2014, and the subsequent guidance issued by various government agencies leaves government contractors with changes to make in this arena.  Like EO 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, issued in 1965, it impacts virtually all government contracts with a very low threshold of $10,000 or more in federal contracts or subcontracts.  Exclusions are few and unaltered as currently stated in the regulations, 41 CFR 60-1.5.

In honor of today’s date and what it represents, a special blog concerning government actions and reactions.

Most contractors (those with calendar year ends) have incurred cost proposals (ICP) due to the government on June 30 and we know that preparing the incurred cost proposal can be stressful and time consuming.  We have prepared 10 helpful tips for contractors to consider when preparing their ICP this year to help alleviate stress, reduce the amount of time spent preparing the ICP and most importantly to result in ICP adequacy.

As a follow-up to a brief article in our February Newsletter which noted the February 4, 2015 disposition of a business systems proposed rule, “closed without further action”, it’s critical for government contractors to recognize that the proposal would have just added to an existing rule; however, what remains is far more substantial than the proposed changes.

Congratulations! You have won your first prime federal contract – now what do you do?! Unfortunately, regardless of how many contracts a company has won, the focus seems to be on “the win” and NOT how a company is going to manage and administer the contract. Larger companies’ that have been around for years have figured out through the “school of hard knocks” (i.e. Government audits, ACO cure notices, contract terminations, debarments, system inadequacies, etc…), how to comply with all the federal laws and regulations that are inevitably part of the Federal government contract you were just awarded.

It’s that time of year, books are closed, tax data has (maybe) been sent to the CPAs and you are ready to start a new year. However, as a government contractor with cost-reimbursable contracts, for the next 180 days a cloud called the incurred cost submission (due on June 30, 2015) is looming over head. Will this cloud looming become a thunder storm or beautiful clear skies? Well, my friend, that is up to you. Here are the top 5 things to know about the incurred cost submission that will make this year a success in submitting a timely and adequate incurred cost submission.

Government contractors have been undergoing accounting system reviews by DCAA for years, but more recently, the adequacy of a contractors accounting system does not necessarily have to be determined by DCAA.  Some Government agencies are relying on outside accounting and consulting firms to offer confidence that a government contractor has an adequate accounting system as a prerequisite for awarding a cost reimbursable contract.