Government Contracts

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Introduction

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2025 includes a mandate that contractors furnish information and documentation to enable the military to modify and repair equipment and systems. Not surprisingly, industry is pushing back on that mandate. On September 25, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to various industry associations, questioning their motives to prevent a right-to-repair requirement that the Senate included in its proposed defense budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Warren also sent a separate letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, expressing concern about contractual restrictions that void contractor warranties when third parties perform repairs and that prevent access to operations, maintenance, integration, and training data.Continue Reading Contractors Oppose the “Right to Repair” Mandate Proposed Under NDAA 2025

This blog post was republished in the October 2024 edition of Surety Bond Quarterly.

Did the 2023 update to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, which apply to contractors and subcontractors performing on certain federally funded or assisted contracts, appropriately modernize or unduly expand the Davis Bacon Act’s (DBA) prevailing wage rule?[1] Following the Department of Labor’s (DOL) enactment of a final resolution on August 23, 2023 (final rule),[2] interested parties immediately challenged the final rule, seeking a preliminary injunction. The parties argued that specified portions of § 5.2 and the entirety of § 5.5(e) in the final rule exceed the DOL’s authority under the DBA and will result in undue hardship and irreparable harm for government contractors in the construction industry.Continue Reading Contractor’s Guide to the Revised Davis-Bacon Act Regulations

A state attorney general (AG) and a major American corporation recently battled over the scope and applicability of the government contractor defense.

The case is about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals. These fluorine-related chemicals are used in a variety of products, including waterproof clothing, nonstick cookware, furniture, and food packaging. Opponents of PFAS refer to them as “forever chemicals” because, as they argue, PFAS compounds do not break down naturally and can contaminate the soil and drinking water.Continue Reading When Worlds Collide: State AG-Led Tort Claims Meet Government Contractor Defense

On December 22, 2023, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, Pub. L. No. 118-31, 137 Stat. 136 (2023) (NDAA 2024) went into effect. Among other things, NDAA 2024 includes a provision phasing out self-certification of service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) and requiring Small Business Administration (SBA) certification of SDVOSB program eligibility, not unlike the requirements for the HUBZone program. SDVOSBs and prime contractors, who seek to work with them to bid on and perform contracts set aside for SDVOSBs, should take note of these changes, which become effective October 1, 2025.Continue Reading The NDAA 2024: Is This the Beginning of the End for Self-Certification in SBA Set-aside Procurements?