Redstone Government Consulting Blog | Government Regulations (16)

If your business pipeline is growing and you are issuing more subcontracts of higher values, Contractors should be aware that your organization has a duty under 48 CFR §22.805 to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Apportioning the Costs of Buildings

The SBA and Treasury have made it clear that if you own or lease a building that you sublet to another company, the portion of the lease or mortgage expense that can be used as nonpayroll costs for PPP loan forgiveness is limited to the share of the expense applied to the business who’s PPP loan is being forgiven. The simple example is, you lease an office building for $10,000 per month and sublease part of the space to another company for $2,500 per month. Only $7,500 would be used toward your nonpayroll cost for loan forgiveness. This proration applies to utility and other shared costs of the tenants.

Discover the critical aspects of mergers and acquisitions, especially for government contractors, in our latest video and article. From major milestones to essential considerations, such as FAR 31.205-27 and DFARS 231.205-70 guidelines, we've got you covered. Watch now to learn more!

The President has announced he has invoked the 1950 Defense Production Act (DPA).  This act provides the Government with the ability to direct businesses to accept contracts and increase the production of necessary goods and services.  The act has been used numerous times since 1950 to support emergencies, including natural disasters and the war on terrorism.  The current fight with COVID-19 has necessitated it once again.  A July 28, 2014, Congressional Research Service paper titled “The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization” summarized the current act to include:

Back in the days of DCAA ICAPS audits, the billing system was a standalone audit program.  Even DCAA’s first pass at auditing for compliance with DFARS 252.242-7006 provided a standalone sub-assignment for the coverage of contractor billing systems.

FAR 31.201-6(a) and CAS 9904.405-30(a) both define directly associated cost as “any cost which is generated solely as a result of incurring another cost, and which would not have been incurred had the other cost not been incurred.”  FAR 31.201-6(a) restates the definition replacing the word “which” with the word “that.”  Still a consistent view of what directly associated cost means.

There is much confusion and frustration on behalf of a contractor when it comes to forward pricing rate proposals (FPRP) and forward pricing rate agreements (FPRA).  This confusion and frustration comes from the lack of direction provided for this process in the FAR.  In this blog, we pull together the regulation and guidance associated with forward pricing so contractors can better understand the process and alleviate some of the frustration and questions which we see often.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued an arbitration decision in European Communities and Certain Member States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft, WT/DS316/ARB. The decision authorized the United States to impose $7.5 billion in tariffs, beginning October 18^th, 2019, on EU imports due to EU subsidies to Airbus, making the ruling the largest in the WTO’s history.

After over three years of waiting, on September 24^th, 2019 the Department of Labor released its long-awaited final overtime rule,  increasing the standard salary threshold for exempt status to $684 per week (up from the current $455 per week floor), or $35,568 per year on an annual basis. The new rule takes effect on January 1^st, 2020, providing the first overtime salary adjustment in more than 10 years.

Future Supply-Chain Rules to Be Implemented Under Executive Order 13873, and Under Sections 889(a)(1)(B) and 889(b) of the 2019 NDAA

There have been several recent developments in U.S. law, relating to non-tariff restrictions on foreign-origin information technology and telecommunications equipment, with a focus on Chinese-origin products. This is the third installment of a three-part series on this topic.