GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
2024 Super Lawyers® Distinguishes 12 PilieroMazza Attorneys for Legal Excellence, PilieroMazza News
Twelve PilieroMazza attorneys from various practice groups—Government Contracts, Construction, Labor & Employment, and Litigation & Dispute Resolution—are distinguished with a listing in the 2024 publication of Super Lawyers® for outstanding legal service. Particularly noteworthy is the elevation from Rising Star to Super Lawyer status of partners Sarah Nash from the Labor & Employment Group and Jessica duHoffmann from the Construction Group. Read more here.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Final Rule: Removing Reference to SAM (System for Award Management) Managed Identifier (SAMMI)
On May 13, USDA published a Final Rule to remove references to SAMMI which became obsolete when Unique Entity Identifier became an official term. The published Final Rule is available here and is effective May 13, 2024.
GSA (General Services Administration) Failing to Monitor Building Maintenance Contracts, Watchdog Says, Government Executive
A new report from the GSA inspector general found that contractors did not complete a majority of maintenance work orders sampled in six federal buildings. Read more here.
Upcoming Government Contract Presentations
TRAINING: Legal Considerations: How Best to Structure Your Company as a Federal Contractor, June 11, 2024, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
NETWORKING: Prime Another Day, June 12, 2024, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV, Nichole D. Atallah
WEBINAR: Legal Strategies & Capture Planning, June 14, 2024, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
CONFERENCE: Negotiating Subcontracts, June 17, 2024, Jacqueline K. Unger
CONSTRUCTION
Enforceability of Pay-if-Paid Clauses in Construction Subcontracts: Mid-Atlantic Region, PilieroMazza Blog, Jessica A. duHoffmann, Jonathan “Jon” R. Neri
Pay-if-paid clauses are conditional payment provisions regularly included in construction subcontracts. The intent of these clauses is to shift the risk of loss from a prime contractor to its subcontractors by making a project owner’s payment to the prime contractor a condition precedent to the prime contractor’s obligation to pay its subcontractors.[1] The enforceability of pay-if-paid clauses is a frequent topic of dispute, becoming more complicated when a prime contractor posts a payment bond protecting subcontractors and suppliers from non-payment on a public or private project. Some states have enacted laws making such provisions altogether unenforceable. Other states have enacted laws that make such provisions unenforceable in connection with mechanics’ lien and payment bond rights. Below is a summary of current laws with respect to the enforceability of such clauses in the Mid-Atlantic Region; specifically, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Delaware. Prime contractors and subcontractors should carefully review the language of conditional payment provisions in subcontracts and be aware of the laws that govern their enforceability. Read more here.
CORPORATE & ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE
Sen. Tuberville Press Release: Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Repeal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), Protect Small Businesses
On May 9, Sen. Tuberville (R-AL) announced that he introduced legislation to repeal the CTA, criticizing that it specifically targets small business owners. The legislation, which is entitled, “Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act” would overturn the entirety of the CTA. Read more here.
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
PilieroMazza’s Nichole Atallah Featured in PCI Practical Matters GovCon Podcast, PilieroMazza News, Nichole D. Atallah
In this episode of Public Contracting Institute’s Practical Matters GovCon Podcast, PilieroMazza’s Nichole Atallah discusses “Understanding and Complying with DOL’s Revised Independent Contractor Rule.” Visit this link to access the podcast. Read more here.
Senators’ Latest Telework Legislation Could Imperil Remote Work, Government Executive
A new bill from Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., would cap all telework at 40% of an employee’s work hours, potentially endangering the federal government’s nascent remote work program. Read more here.
Senators Accuse DOL (Department of Labor) of Allowing Unemployment Fraud in California, Bloomberg Law
Over $30 billion in taxpayer funds lost to unemployment insurance fraud in California may not be recovered under recent U.S. Department of Labor guidance, two key Republican senators said in a letter to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. Read more here (subscription required).
Upcoming Labor & Employment Presentations
WEBINAR: From Compliance to Competitiveness: Revamped DBA Rule Reshapes Labor Landscape for Construction Contractors, May 21, 2024, Nichole D. Atallah, Sarah L. Nash
TRAINING: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, June 12, 2024, Nichole D. Atallah
NATIVE AMERICAN LAW & TRIBAL ADVOCACY
Impact of 11th Circuit’s Sovereign Immunity Waiver Decision on Tribally-Owned Businesses in SBA’s 8(a) Program, Tribal Advocate Blog, Matthew E. Feinberg
On May 1, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a sweeping decision impacting sovereign immunity for tribally-owned government contractors. The first-of-its-kind appellate decision concludes that by participating in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a) Program), tribally-owned entities waive sovereign immunity as to virtually all—if not all—claims connected in any way to the entity’s 8(a) Program participation, regardless of the tenuous nature of the connection. Tribally-owned government contractors should adjust their operations based on key takeaways from the Eleventh Circuit decision. Read more here.
White House Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities Across the Country
On May 9, the Administration released a fact sheet noting that, through the Investing in America agenda, the Administration has continued to increase federal contract awards to small, disadvantaged businesses of Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Read more here.
CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY
CMMC Is Coming, but Concerns for Small Businesses Persist Under Revamped Rule, Federal News Network
SBA’s Office of Advocacy is calling on the Pentagon to make sure small businesses don’t fall behind as it rolls out the CMMC requirements. The Pentagon changed many aspects of the original Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program to help ease the burden on small businesses. But supporters of smaller companies in the defense industrial base still have plenty of concerns about the proposed CMMC rules. Read more here.
White House in talks with industry to build legal framework for software liability, NextGov/FCW
As part of a broad cybersecurity strategy, the U.S. wants to create incentives for the tech industry to manufacture products and software that don’t contain major security flaws. Read more here.
