On January 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a new rule that would prohibit employers from imposing non-competes on workers, and, if finalized, will have far reaching implications for many businesses operating in the United States. The proposed ban would make it illegal for employers to enter into or attempt to enter into non-compete agreements with workers, continue to maintain such agreements if they already exist, or represent that a worker is subject to a non-compete. It would further require companies with active non-competes to inform workers that they are void. Under the proposed rule, non-competes that bar workers from accepting competing employment or starting a competing business would be prohibited.

Join us for a webinar in which Bass, Berry & Sims labor & employment and antitrust attorneys will address topics and concerns pertaining to the proposed ban, including:

Continue Reading Webinar: The FTC’s Proposed Ban on Non-Competes and What It Could Mean for You

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has an interesting construction. With seemingly no competition to bring size protests and the successful completion of a previous grant before a second grant, the unusual process can make participants forget that normal Small Business Administration (SBA) size regulations still apply. A recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) decision reminds SBIR awardees to comply with all affiliation rules and ownership requirements or risk losing follow-on SBIR awards.

Continue Reading Attention SBIR Applicants…Remember that Affiliation Rules Still Apply

You are reading Bass, Berry & Sims’ new enforcement roundup, where we bring notable enforcement actions, policy changes, interesting news articles and a bit of our insight to your inbox every month.

To stay up to date, subscribe to our GovCon & Trade blog. If you have questions about any of the actions mentioned and how they relate to your business, contact our firm’s international trade team. We welcome your feedback and encourage sharing this newsletter with anyone who may be interested.

December was a busy month! A highly complex Russian procurement network dismembered, a former Marine indicted, a government contractor sentenced to prison for export violations, and temporary denial orders (TDOs) galore! Let’s get into it.

Continue Reading International Trade Enforcement Roundup – December 2022

On January 6, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi in the District of Arizona agreed to dismiss a lawsuit brought by five states challenging the April 2022 Executive Order (EO), increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour. Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, and South Carolina argued the administration did not have the authority to stipulate an increase in the minimum wage of federal contractors under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA). Judge Tuchi disagreed.

Continue Reading Arizona Judge Dismisses Challenge to Government Contractor Minimum Wage Executive Order

On November 17, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to make certain inflationary adjustments for the alternative size standards under the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. The interim final rule became effective on December 19, 2022, but the SBA will accept public comments until January 17, 2023.

Continue Reading on BassBerry.com

We look forward to presenting a webinar titled “FCPA Enforcement Update: Lessons Learned for Best Practices” for the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics alongside V. Channing Landreth, AVP Managing Counsel at Labcorp. We will cover:

  1. Overview of FCPA
  2. Key Compliance Challenges
  3. Lessons from Recent Enforcement Actions
  4. Compliance Best Practices

The webinar will be held Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT. For more information or registration, please click here.

I examined how and whether the newly passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will provide inflationary relief for government contractors in a recent article for Reuters. Government contractors who had firm fixed price contracts awarded in the last two years are finding that the work performed now is more expensive due to rising inflation costs.

Continue Reading Inflationary Relief for Government Contractors from National Defense Authorization Act

On December 27, President Biden signed the Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act into law. The legislation, ushered through Congress by a bipartisan group of backers, strengthens existing regulations around federal contractor conflict of interest mitigation and provides new requirements for agencies to follow to sniff out potential conflicts of interest. 

Continue Reading New Legislation Strengthens Disclosure Requirements for Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest

The Bass, Berry & Sims international trade team continues to monitor U.S. government action in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the final months of 2022, the U.S. government added multiple individuals and entities to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List and the Entity List (EL), froze assets of individuals, issued or revised general licenses, and took enforcement action against individuals and companies. This post summarizes new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions as of Friday, December 30. This post supplements our previous summaries, which are available by following the links at the end of this blog post.

Department of the Treasury and Department of State Designations

On December 22, the Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, added 10 entities associated with the Russian Navy and/or the Russian maritime industry to the SDN List.

Continue Reading Russia, Ukraine: Update as of Friday, December 30

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 includes a short but interesting provision reminding the Department of Defense (DoD) that the unilateral insertion of a new clause in a DoD contract is a change that may entitle a contractor to compensation. Section 805 of the recently signed legislation amends 10 U.S.C. 3862, “Requests for equitable adjustment or other relief,” inserting the following provision and making conforming amendments:

(c) Treatment of Certain Clauses Implementing Executive Orders.– The unilateral insertion of a covered clause into an existing Department of Defense contract, order, or other transaction by a contracting officer shall be treated as a change directed by the contracting officer pursuant to, and subject to, the Changes clause of the underlying contract, order, or other transaction.

Continue Reading Clarification: You Can Recover for Changes Implementing Executive Orders

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

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