On February 18, 2025, Denise Cheung, leader of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, abruptly resigned. Prior to her resignation, Cheung had been at the Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
On January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an internal memo (Memo M-25-13) directing all federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal...more
On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a broad executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” Aimed at “[t]erminating Illegal Discrimination in the Federal...more
The fourth quarter of 2024 presented government contractors with significant changes, including annual spending bills, new rulemakings, agency announcements and a new federal administration following the election. We review...more
1/14/2025
/ Buy American Act ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
Small Business
Federal agencies proposed or finalized several important rulemakings during the third quarter of 2024, raising new opportunities and considerations for government contractors. Below, we highlight some of these changes and...more
11/1/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Development ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
NDAA ,
OMB ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
WOSB
Following a multi-year rollout process, the U.S. Department of Defense published a final rule on October 15, 2024, establishing its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program to protect sensitive unclassified...more
The third quarter had government contractors staring down the possibility of a government shutdown while also contending with some significant regulatory developments. We review some of those developments below....more
On August 14, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released final guidance on implementing the statutory requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and...more
For the first time in almost 40 years, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the issuance of regulations designed to update and modernize the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), which require the payment of locally...more
From increased cybersecurity requirements to updated Inflation Reduction Act guidance, to a long-awaited Supreme Court decision on the False Claims Act, federal contractors had a lot to think about during the second quarter...more
As higher education institutions, state and local governments, private employers and federal contractors grapple with understanding the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President...more
7/24/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII ,
Universities
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al., No....more
7/7/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
On June 2, 2023, the FAR Council issued an interim final rule banning the use of a ByteDance Covered Application — better known as TikTok — in government contracting. The interim final rule implements OMB Memorandum M-23-13...more
The first few months of 2023 has brought not only regulatory changes to the government contractor landscape, but also the possibility for new business opportunities in semiconductors, green procurement and infrastructure...more
Federal sustainability is a priority for the Biden administration. The administration has, for example, provided unprecedented levels of funding for sustainable infrastructure projects through the Inflation Reduction Act...more
Government contractors witnessed significant developments ranging from infrastructure, sustainability, supply chain, and cyber security requirements to increased compliance obligations and enforcement actions in 2022. Here we...more
1/4/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Project Labor Agreements
Executive Order 14057 — “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability” — made it clear that the Biden administration plans to use federal procurement policy to further its sustainability goals....more
As covered in a previous alert, on August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) notified its federal contractor base that it received a request under the Freedom of...more
On August 26, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit held that President Biden likely exceeded his authority by issuing the federal contractor vaccine mandate and affirmed the district court’s injunction prohibiting the federal...more
On August 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) revised Directive 2022-01 (DIR 2022-01) to clarify its earlier guidance addressing federal government...more
On July 28, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued important clarifications about the certification process through its Federal Contractor Portal (Portal). As previously reported, the Portal...more
All eyes have been on Ukraine since Russia launched its military invasion two months ago. The U.S. government has imposed numerous sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion and promises to continue its economic...more
On March 31, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its second directive of the Biden administration, Directive 2022-02, titled “Effective Compliance Evaluations and Enforcement.” The policies...more
On Equal Pay Day (March 15, 2022), President Biden issued an executive order aimed at advancing the effectiveness in federal contracting by promoting pay equity and transparency in tandem with the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more
On December 7, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction temporarily in Georgia v. Biden, halting the enforcement of Executive Order 14042 (EO 14042) nationwide. In...more