As we have discussed at length on this blog, for more than a year federal courts have repeatedly held that, for various reasons, President Biden lacked the authority to mandate by executive order that government contractors can force their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of contracting with the federal government. Even when the government claimed that the vaccines would prevent people from catching or spreading COVID-19, at which time there was arguably a medical basis for a mandate, it was clear that there was no statutory or constitutional basis for the authority asserted in Executive Order 14042. Continue Reading DOJ’s Quixotic Defense of the Vaccine Mandate May Undermine Presidential Authority
IT’S ALIVE! The Government Contractor Vaccine Mandate, Back for One More Round
Unbelievably, after the 11th Circuit narrowed the nationwide injunction issued by the Southern District of Georgia on August 30, which took effect when the court issued its mandate on October 18, the government began preparing to enforce the vaccine mandate against contractors not covered by one of the six district court injunctions.
Continue Reading IT’S ALIVE! The Government Contractor Vaccine Mandate, Back for One More Round
Register Now | SBA All Small Mentor Protégé Program Joint Ventures
I will present “SBA All Small Mentor Protégé Program Joint Ventures” for the Maryland Procurement Technical Assistance Center (Maryland PTAC). In this two-hour presentation, you will learn the ins and outs of the popular Mentor Protégé Program and get answers to these, and many more, questions.
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Impact of Increased Minimum Wage Requirement for Federal Contractors
I recently authored an article for Connector, the official magazine of the Steel Erectors Association of America, outlining the types of government contracts and workers impacted by Executive Order 14026 (EO 14026) that increased the minimum hourly wage for certain federal contractors from $10.50 to $15.00. This increase went into effect on January 30, 2022 and is intended to promote “the government’s procurement interests in economy and efficiency by contracting with sources that ‘adequately’ compensate their workers.”
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Suspension of Government Contractor Vaccine Mandate Enforcement
I recently provided insight for an article in Law360 on the announcement by the Biden administration to suspend the enforcement of the government contractor vaccine mandate. In August, the Eleventh Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for government contracts but limited the scope of that nationwide injunction to just the plaintiffs. There are currently five other pending challenges to the mandate in different jurisdictions.
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Government to Withhold Enforcement of the Vaccine Mandate. For Now.
After we published a post about the Eleventh Circuit’s decision to narrow the scope of the nationwide preliminary injunction of the government contractor vaccine mandate, the government announced that, for the time being, it will not enforce the mandate. The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force added the following statement to its website:
Regarding Applicable Court Orders and Injunctions: To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce Executive Order 14042. For existing contracts or contract-like instruments (hereinafter “contracts”) that contain a clause implementing requirements of Executive Order 14042, the Government will take no action to enforce the clause implementing requirements of Executive Order 14042, absent further written notice from the agency.Continue Reading Government to Withhold Enforcement of the Vaccine Mandate. For Now.
The Contractor Vaccine Mandate is Back?
On Friday, August 26, the Eleventh Circuit published the long-awaited decision in the government’s appeal of a nationwide injunction halting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for government contractors and subcontractors. Although the decision found that the plaintiffs were entitled to an injunction, the Eleventh Circuit also found that the Southern District of Georgia’s injunction, which applied nationwide, was overly broad. The court narrowed the injunction to apply only to the plaintiffs, stating that they need not comply with the vaccine mandate in their capacity as contractors or incorporate it in lower-tier subcontracts. The appellate court left the prohibition against federal agencies considering compliance with the mandate in proposal evaluations, but only to the extent a plaintiff submitted a bid.
Continue Reading The Contractor Vaccine Mandate is Back?
Potential Consequences for Failure to Comply with Disclosure Obligations
In a recent article for Reuters, I warned of the potential consequences if government contractors fail to comply with their disclosure obligations. I outlined the types of proceedings government contractors with federal contracts and grants with a total value greater than $10 million must report on the Federal Awardee Performance Integrity and Information System (FAPISS) in accordance with FAR 52.209-7, which include:
- Criminal proceeding resulting in a conviction or other acknowledgment of fault.
- Civil proceeding resulting in a finding of fault with a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, and/or damages greater than $5,000, or other acknowledgment of fault.
- Administrative proceeding resulting in a finding of fault with either a monetary fine or penalty greater than $5,000 or reimbursement, restitution, or damages greater than $100,000, or other acknowledgment of fault.
Continue Reading Potential Consequences for Failure to Comply with Disclosure Obligations
Government Contracts Labor & Employment Developments – Part 1
While we are still in the first half of 2022, it has already been a busy year in terms of labor and employment developments for government contractors. For any companies doing work for the federal government, whether as prime contractors or as subcontractors, it can be challenging to keep up with the perpetually changing requirements,
New Enhanced Debriefing Rule for Government Contractors
I recently outlined the implications of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) new “enhanced debriefing rule” for government contractors that is intended to provide information and details about award decisions. However, as I explain in the article, “While this increased transparency was intended to discourage bid protests by sharing more information about award decisions, and some