Federal Anti Kickback Statutes of 1986 (AKS) (See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b.) is a federal criminal statute that prohibits government contractors or government employees from engaging in the exchange (or offer to exchange), of anything of value, in an effort to induce (or reward) the referral of business reimbursable by… Read more »
Avoiding Confusion with FAR Price Reasonableness Determination and Price Realism Analysis Can Make the Difference in GAO Protest Outcomes. Price realism and price reasonableness are evaluation analysis theories that can cause confusion among government contractors when filing a bid protest. Failure to understand the differences between price realism and price reasonableness can… Read more »
Understanding how to navigate LPTA evaluation criteria mistakes can allow you to get a second bite at the apple. Lowest Price Technically Acceptable, lowest price technically acceptable evaluation factors are commonplace when it comes to federal procurement and litigating FAR protests. A common mistake made by contractors when litigating bid protest cases… Read more »
As a government construction contractor, your payment and performance bonds under the Miller Act is critical to getting the award and protecting your company in the event of default. Getting payment and performance is a requirement for federal construction contracts. However, problems arise when small businesses have a difficult time securing… Read more »
The Federal False Claims Act 31 USC 3729 is used by federal law enforcement agents to investigate, charge and convict small businesses and large federal contractors. Learning to combat these charges up front is critical to avoiding criminal charges or hefty civil fines during false claims and qui tam litigation…. Read more »
When agencies use their source selection process for evaluation and best value trade-off of technical proposals, the government contract law only allows for reasonable technical proposal and best value trade-off decisions. This occurs during the final stages of a negotiated procurement by comparing competing proposal to each other. When the Agency receives initial proposals,… Read more »
When you find a federal Request for Proposal that you believe that you can perform, you also want to develop good proposal ideas that can reduce the government’s risk, and can also offer additional value. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) does not give a checklist of suggestions to create additional value. The burden… Read more »
In a GAO bid protest that challenges the agency’s small business set aside decision, contractors would have to focus on facts pertaining to the prior procurement history, the recommendations of appropriate small business specialists, and market surveys that include responses to sources sought announcements. This one reason why government contracting agencies issue… Read more »
The government shutdown could impact the amount of claims or equitable adjustments submitted by contractors. However, as for any claim under the Contract Disputes Act, businesses must be aware that such claims must be directly related to the contract itself. A common issue that will arise is the ability of contractors to pay their… Read more »
Discrimination in the Workplace — Practices to Avoid When it comes to employer discrimination in the workplace, government contractors are subjected to strict compliance with workplace discrimination laws. Your contract contains specific statutory language to that effect. Therefore, especially for larger contractors, you must ensure that your supervisors are familiar with the laws… Read more »