GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Contractor Past Performance Assessment Report–3rd Quarter Fiscal Year 2015

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) issued the contractor past performance assessment reporting for the third quarter for fiscal year 2015. The report identifies the Past Performance Retrieval System compliance metrics as of July 3, 2015 and compares the data of the third quarter to the second quarter of fiscal year 2015. Contractor Past Performance Assessment Report - 3rd Quarter Fiscal Year 2015.

DoD, GSA, and NASA Issue Extension of Comment Period for Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Proposed Rule

The Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued an extension to the comment period for the proposed rule, FAR Case 2014-025, published on May 28, 2015, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” which is designed to improve contractor compliance with labor laws and increase efficiency and cost savings in Federal Contracting, 80 Fed. Reg. 40968. The deadline for submitting comments is extended from July 27, 2015, to August 11, 2015, to provide additional time for interested parties to provide comments on the FAR case. The due date for comments on DOL’s Guidance for Executive Order 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces”, which also implements the E.O., is extended to August 11, 2015 as well.

Federal Bar Association Invites Participation in SWAM Working Group

The Federal Bar Association’s (“FBA”) Government Contracts Section is inviting attorneys, firms, law schools, bar associations, organizations, government representatives, and companies with any interest to participate in a Small, Women-Owned, and Minority Government Contract Law Working Group (“SWAM Working Group”). The SWAM Working Group, a two-year initiative, will hold periodic discussions and will also publish a white paper discussing best practices in government contractor utilization of SWAM law firms in accordance with applicable ethical and government agency regulations for subcontracted legal services. Questions presented will relate to general protocol for access to opportunities, compliance measures and any related reporting to government customers. The FBA will hold an open teleconference and interest meeting for the SWAM Working Group on Friday, July 24, 2015 from 12 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. ET at 1200 G Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20005. RSVPs should be sent to Jerry Alfonso Miles, Esq. at information@dealeservices.com with general interest in participating in the SWAM Working Group. Federal Bar Association Inviting Participation in SWAM Working Group.

HUD Issues Final Rule Regarding Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule to provide HUD program participants with an approach to more effectively and efficiently incorporate into their planning processes, as well as the duty to affirmatively further the purposes and policies of the Fair Housing Act, which is title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 80 Fed. Reg. 42272. The Fair Housing Act not only prohibits discrimination but, in conjunction with other statutes, directs HUD’s program participants to take significant actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, achieve truly balanced and integrated living patterns, promote fair housing choices, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination. The approach to affirmatively furthering fair housing carried out by HUD program participants prior to this rule, which involved an analysis of impediments to fair housing choices and a certification that the program participant will affirmatively further fair housing, has not been as effective as originally envisioned. The final rule refines the prior approach by replacing the analysis of impediments with a fair housing assessment that should better inform program participants’ planning processes with a view toward better aiding HUD program participants to fulfill this statutory obligation. The final rule will become effective August 17, 2015. 

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

DOL Issues Proposed Rule to Amend FLSA: Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees

The Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division, issued a proposed rule to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which guarantees a minimum wage and overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate for hours worked over 40 hours in a work week, 80 Fed. Reg. 38516. While these protections extend to most workers, the FLSA does provide a number of exemptions. The proposed rule updates and revises the regulations issued under the FLSA implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees. This exemption is referred to as the FLSA’s “EAP” or “white collar” exemption. To be considered exempt, employees must meet certain minimum tests related to their primary job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than a specified minimum amount. The standard salary level required for exemption is currently $455 a week ($23,660 for a full-year worker) and was last updated in 2004. The DOL is seeking to update the salary level to ensure that the FLSA’s intended overtime protections are fully implemented, and to simplify the identification of nonexempt employees, thus making the EAP exemption easier for employers and workers to understand. The DOL also proposed automatically updating the salary level to prevent the level from becoming outdated with the often lengthy passage of time between rulemakings. Lastly, the DOL is considering whether revisions to the duties tests are necessary in order to ensure that these tests fully reflect the purpose of the exemption. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 4, 2015.

NOTICES

Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled 
The Following Notices Were Issued:

80 Fed. Reg. 39759, July 10, 2015, to add products (MR 843--Set, Bag Clip, 5 pc.; Label, Address, Recycled, Laser and Inkjet, White) to the Procurement List. The additions will become effective August 10, 2015. 

80 Fed. Reg. 39759, July 10, 2015, proposing to add services (Equipment and Facility Support Service, U.S. Air Force, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, Hill Air Force Base, UT; Janitorial Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Transformation Warehouse, 1873 Eringhaus Street, Elizabeth City, NC) and delete a service (Food Service Attendant Service, United States Military Academy: Enlisted Dining Facility, and Summer Camp, Enlisted Dining Facility--Bldg 620, Knox Road, West Point, NY).  Comments on the proposed additions and deletion are due August 10, 2015.