The aftermath of a hurricane is a difficult time for many in the affected areas, and government contractors are no exception. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused terrible damage in Texas and Florida, claiming lives and extensively damaging property. The costs of these hurricanes are staggering. Recovery will be slow. For government contractors, the hurricanes resulted in, and will continue to cause, performance delays, increases in costs for materials and services, and material shortages and damage. The good news is that, in most cases, contractors will be entitled to contract schedule relief. The bad news is that contractors may not be entitled to additional compensation. Here is what you need to know.

Time -

Rebuilding and getting back into business are obviously the top priorities. But an essential part of getting back into business is taking the time now to figure out what the likely schedule impact of the hurricane or flooding will be going forward. This is because your schedule clocks are ticking; and no matter how sympathetic a contracting officer may be, the sooner a CO knows what the effect will be on deliveries, the sooner the CO can consider and accommodate a schedule extension.

Originally published in Law 360 on October 5, 2017.