Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Contracts & Subcontracts Administration (16)

The term abandonment seems to be a hot topic within government property (GP) circles for both contractors and government procurement professionals. Many more contractors are requesting abandonment as a method of disposition. But exactly what is abandonment? When can it be used? And is it a last resort for the government?

Government furnished property can be a headache, even for the most seasoned contractor. It can include thousands of tiny parts, multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment or both – often all on one contract in an old dark government building. We have identified some common, and not-so-common, areas we see missing in contractor government property management plans.

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.

A New Procedure: Directive 2018-05

On August 24, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a standard procedure for OFCCP staff to follow when conducting an analysis of contractor compensation practices during a compliance evaluation.   This information is also intended to assist government contractors in performing annual internal reviews and proactively addressing any potential pay discrimination. Directive 2018-05 - Analysis of Contractor Compensation Practices During a Compliance Evaluation replaces Directive 2013-03 Procedures for Reviewing Contractor Compensation Systems and Practices which was issued in February 2013.

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.

It’s that time again!  This is a reminder of the Federal contractor obligations for record-keeping and reporting under the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). 

Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) play a key role in a government contractor’s ability to compete for work.  In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 9.504, contracting officers are responsible for evaluating OCI as early in the acquisition process as possible in an effort to avoid or mitigate conflicts that may otherwise be present in the acquisition. 

Ever wonder how to get your questions answered at a post-award debriefing?  It can be frustrating to get the information you really want to know from the Government.  When I worked as an acquisition attorney with the Government, I spent many hours with my evaluation teams preparing for post-award debriefings.  I always set time aside to go through a mock debriefing and discuss what information to disclose and what type of questions to table. 

As we noted in our last blog, DCMA has issued another updated CPSR Guidebook, dated May 29, 2018.  DCMA issued two updates in 2017 and have already issued 2 updates in 2018.  This leads us to question: Will there be more? And our intuition leads us to answer: More than likely! 

A new DCMA CPSR Guidebook has been released effective May 29, 2018 and can be found here:  http://www.dcma.mil/Portals/31/Documents/CPSR/CPSR_Guidebook_052918.pdf The Redstone team will be conducting a more comprehensive review of the guidebook, but we want to share our initial thoughts with readers.

Quite often, in practice, we see contractors classifying too much cost as IR&D or more commonly, B&P expense.  In a proposal setting, experts from across your company support the development of a compliant proposal.  The question we see frequently is: “Who should be charging to B&P Projects?”  While a business may want to capture the total cost of a proposal effort, including administrative support from G&A staff, it is not wise to have these personnel charge to a B&P project where their labor will absorb overhead. 

In late 2013, the BBA (Bipartisan Budget Act) significantly changed the FAR 31.205-6(p) regulatory cap for allowable contractor employee compensation.   In a highly politicized action, the Obama Administration convinced Congress to reduce allowable compensation to $487,000 for any contractor employee effective for contracts on or after June 24, 2014.  Additionally, Section 702 of the BBA prescribed the method for annual increases to the statutory cap (based upon the change in the Employment Cost Index for all workers as calculated by the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics).