On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the False Claims Act (“FCA”) covers compliance lapses tied to regulatory interpretations that are incorrect but “objectively reasonable.” The Supreme Court...more
1/18/2023
/ Billing ,
Certiorari ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Misrepresentation ,
Oral Argument ,
Reckless Disregard ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
Designed for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, this newsletter seeks to bring you up to speed on key federal and state False Claims Act (FCA) developments, with links to primary resources. Each quarter, we...more
1/6/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Institutions ,
GAO ,
Medicaid ,
NIST ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblowers
On October 19, 2022, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published its first set of interim guidance for agencies regarding the Federal Government’s enforcement of Executive Order 14042 (“EO 14042”). In addition to...more
On October 14, 2022, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (“Task Force”) published yet another update for Federal contractors regarding the Federal Government’s approach to enforcing Executive Order 14042 (“EO 14042”) in...more
In a long-awaited decision, on August 26, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit significantly narrowed the scope of a nationwide preliminary injunction of the vaccine mandate in Executive Order...more
In a long-awaited decision, on August 26, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit significantly narrowed the scope of a nationwide preliminary injunction of the vaccine mandate in Executive Order...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Government can dismiss a False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuit pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A) over the Relator’s objections after initially choosing not to intervene...more
Lawyers for the U.S. government and challengers to the federal contractor vaccine mandate both faced tough questions from an Eleventh Circuit panel in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, April 8, 2022....more
It has been more than two months since the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a nationwide preliminary injunction of Executive Order 14042, the Biden Administration’s effort to impose a vaccine...more
Aerojet Rocketdyne received another blow last week in its long running battle to end a 2015 False Claims Act suit alleging it lied about its compliance with cybersecurity requirements in order to win several federal...more
On January 27, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona joined the growing list of courts that have preliminarily enjoined Executive Order 14042 (which imposes COVID safety protocols on government...more
As a result of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia’s latest order, which confirms the nationwide preliminary injunction of Executive Order 14042 (“EO” or “EO 14042”) applies only to the “vaccine...more
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, which had earlier issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14042’s vaccine mandate, made clear that the injunction...more
The fast and furious Jenga game over when and with which federal vaccine mandate a company must comply might finally have reached a turning point. On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court issued dual per curiam opinions in...more
1/24/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On December 7, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia ordered a nationwide injunction of Executive Order 14042 (the EO or EO 14042), temporarily suspending the EO’s vaccination, masking, and social...more
12/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Since our October 14, 2021 webinar, much has developed in the rapidly evolving compliance world of Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (“EO” or “EO 14042”). In case you...more
11/12/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
COFC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
GWACs ,
HUD ,
NASA ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Prime Contractor ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Service Contract Act ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On November 1, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (the “Task Force”) added new FAQs to its guidance on Executive Order 14042 (“EO 14042”), signaling that contractors have some flexibility to go beyond the...more
11/5/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Immunization Records ,
OSHA ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations
Capital is the lifeblood of small businesses and fundamental to their formation and growth. However, obtaining capital can be difficult for minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs), as a lack of access to capital is one of...more
SBA’S 8(A) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM-
WHAT IS THE 8(A) PROGRAM AND WHAT IS IT INTENDED TO DO?
The 8(a) program, officially designated the 8(a) Business Development program, is designed to assist small...more
2/4/2021
/ Business Ownership ,
Certifications ,
HUBZone ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
NAICS ,
Principal Place of Business ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB
Many government programs exist to help small businesses—especially minority-owned small businesses—secure a foothold in government contracting. Read on to learn more about some common programs, the basic eligibility...more
In the next four posts, we will share guides specific to federal contracting as a minority-owned small business.
Minority-owned businesses often face unique challenges in the public procurement process due to systemic...more
Both houses of Congress now have voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Although the threat of a presidential veto still hangs over the NDAA, we highlight below a few of the...more
12/15/2020
/ Bid Protests ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financing ,
NDAA ,
Progress Payments ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Software ,
Subcontractors
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) will institute a new Defective Pricing Pilot Team, according to a September 30, 2020, memo issued by Kim Herrington, Acting Principal Director of Defense Pricing and Contracting...more
In a previous post, we reported on ECC International, LLC, ASBCA No. 60484, Nov. 16, 2018, 18-1 BCA ¶ 37203, which rejected a contractor’s claims arising out of the Government’s closure of a key access route to a construction...more
Like the rest of the nation, and indeed the whole world, contractors today are fighting a war against an invisible enemy. As we observed in a previous post, responding to COVID-19 raises wartime contracting issues on the home...more