The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a rare opinion letter last week responding to an inquiry about the calculation of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave when a employee works an FMLA-reduced schedule during a week that has a holiday. Read on to find out how to compute the amount of FMLA consumed in this scenario.
Read MoreConventional wisdom holds that bid protests are an uphill battle. It can be tough to win them. And sometimes when you win, you still lose because the contract’s still awarded to your competitor. A recent bid protest decision illustrates how a successful protest prompted the agency to appoint a new evaluation team that changed the outcome.
Read MoreContractors who are experienced in the world of multiple award contracts likely are familiar with how the small business regulations operate under those contract vehicles. However, there are some wrinkles. Small businesses that are considering whether to dive into this world should learn more about the maze of small business regulations so they can anticipate the potential pitfalls that could come with success.
Read MoreYesterday’s tax filing deadline brought to mind a recent Small Business Administration decision in which a contractor lost out because it didn’t supply its tax returns. If SBA knocks on your door because a protest has been filed, don’t leave things to chance. Respond in a timely and complete manner—you want to make it easy for the SBA to see things your way.
Read MoreDOL recently announced that US Marshals arrested a New York restaurateur for failure to respond to a subpoena as part of a Fair Labor Standards Act investigation. This is the second such arrest in the last few months. As I said in my blog about the first arrest - things simply go better when employers take DOL investigations seriously.
Read MoreI suspect a word more colorful than “whoops” was said when the Air Force discovered that it had a awarded a contract to a supplier that technically was not permitted to furnish the part that was ordered. However, what followed that realization was not a whoops moment.
Read MoreContractors are on their own when it comes to determining what wages they must pay under a contract covered by the Service Contract Act. That’s exactly what the Government Accountability Office held when it denied the protest of a prospective contractor that sought a ruling about when under a diving services contract it should pay prevailing wages to its divers.
Read MoreNoncompete agreements are under attack by recent proposals coming from the Biden Administration as well as a bipartisan group of Senators. Such clauses are standard fare for employment agreements, particularly for senior executives. However, in this world of remote work and a patchwork of state laws, a national rule might not be so bad after all. So, fear not, the sky actually might not fall if one of these proposals comes to pass.
Read MoreWith the new year comes new minimum wage rates applicable to employees who work on or in connection with many federal contracts. Consider this a courteous nudge to make sure you’re complying with the correct minimum wage requirements.
Read MoreThe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate, gather data, interview employees, enter and inspect work sites and review records as well as to gather data about hours worked and compensation paid. It can be quite intrusive; however, cooperation is certainly preferable to a perp walk. Read on to learn more about how an employer found himself arrested by the U.S. Marshal.
Read MoreDoD recently issued a “new” rule to implement a prohibition of confidentiality agreements that would forbid employees or subcontractors to report waste, fraud or abuse. While there’s nothing actually “new,” read on to refresh your understanding of the rule and how you can ensure that your confidentiality agreements won’t run astray.
Read MoreMany (if not most) of the myriad laws, regulations, and executive orders that apply to federal contractors each come with their own requirements to notify employees of the existence of these laws and their rights under them. For every rule, there’s a poster. News flash: they change - All. The. Time.
Read MoreThe presumption that agency officials act in good faith often excuses lackluster contract administration. In this case, the Court of Federal Claims held that, even when officials “earnestly” do their best, a lack of guidance can constitute a breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
Read MoreFederal contractors who hold multi-year fixed price contracts are feeling great pressure from this year’s high rates of inflation. DoD guidance issued in May essentially stated that these contractors should consider themselves up a well-known creek without a paddle. New guidance issued earlier this month offers a glimmer of hope by providing Contracting Officers a couple of options to provide relief to struggling contractors.
Read MoreUnder Executive Orders issued by President Biden, and before him, President Obama, federal contractors must pay a minimum wage to their nonexempt employees who work on or “in connection with” many federal contracts. The “in connection with” aspect of these Orders can trip up even seasoned federal contractors.
Read MoreOn June 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its annual memo that sets health and welfare (“H&W”) fringe benefit rates for Service Contract Act (“SCA”) covered contracts. Over the last few years, the rates have barely moved an inch. This year, the rates are going up by about 4%.
Read MoreA recent Maryland case demonstrates how state law can supplant federal law with respect to wage and hour obligations. Federal contractors must be vigilant to avoid getting caught in this sometimes quite tangled web.
Read MoreIf a government contractor has a bone to pick, figuring out who to complain to can feel a lot like a customer service phone tree. If you press three instead of one, you can find yourself being transferred to another department after hours of being on hold. Or you can get completely different answers depending on who you speak to.
Read MoreThe Director of Defense Pricing and Contracting recently issued a memo to guide contracting officers in response to the impacts of inflation on federal contracts. Read on to find out how there’s some hope for future contracts, but little relief for contractors who hold existing fixed-price contracts.
Read MoreThe refusal of the Government to pay for undisputed costs unless the contractor signs a release of all costs (disputed or not) seems heavy handed. A recent case holds that a government contractor cannot claim that the release was obtained through economic duress when litigation is an alternative.
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