Legal Updates

Update: Department of Defense Privacy and Information Handling/Department of Defense Proposed Rule

By: Christine V. Williams on 08/11/2015

There is a lot going on with the government right now regarding information and privacy.  As the saying goes, it is not a matter of if the system is hacked or taken advantage of butwhen.  This update will quickly cover two new developments in the world of the Department of Defense (DoD).  First, DoD has issued an instruction on the handling of electronic data, information, and IT Services for...

Draft Executive Order on Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors

By: Christine V. Williams on 08/07/2015

It was reported/leaked Wednesday that there may be a draft executive order mandating paid sick leave for workers on federal government contractors.  We will watch this develop to see which way it goes.  Again, this is only draft. The Basics as Reported by the NY Times Minimum of 56 hours a year of paid sick leave (about 7 days) Would cover an employee’s illness, or caring for a...

GAO Protests Report Summary

By: Christine V. Williams on 07/29/2015

This update summarizes the Congressional Research Service’s report, “GAO Protests: Trends and Analysis,” published on or around July 21, 2015. Please recall that although the SBA has a protest system in place for certain areas, if you are a small business contractor, the GAO decided at least 14 cases dealing with small business issues. These cases are ones, for the most part, that are in...

House of Representatives Passes National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016

By: Christine V. Williams on 05/18/2015

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. Congressman Young’s amendment would replace Section 811 of the FY 2010, which introduced the requirement that all sole source awards to Alaska Native Corporations (“ANCs”), among others, must have an approved Justification and Approval Memorandum...

SBA Tribal Consultations to Continue

By: Christine V. Williams on 03/03/2015

The SBA held its tribal consultations on the recently published proposed regulations in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2015. During those consultations, it was announced that the SBA would be extending the time to comment on the first set of the proposed regulations, which were published on Dec. 29, 2014, until April 6, 2015, which coincides with the comment deadline for the second set of...

Highlights of the SBA’s Proposed Regulation Changes

By: Christine V. Williams on 02/11/2015

This brief article hits the high points of the proposed regulations changes issued by the SBA on Feb. 5, 2015, and addresses what many companies would consider the most substantive changes to date. Notably, other articles have covered the mentor protégé proposed changes, allowing for other than 8(a) firms to be a part of that type of program, as well as different takes on the proposed...