Coronavirus Relief Legislation Targets Family & Sick Leave: Stimulus Package in Progress
Late Wednesday night, President Trump signed into law a coronavirus relief package with provisions targeting paid sick leave and paid family leave. The Families First Coronavirus Relief Act expands the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to include paid leave for certain COVID-19 related absences and mandatory paid sick time. The Act provides workers at companies with...
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Pandemic Implications for Government Contractors: How the FAR Covers COVID-19
Developed in conjunction with our friends at The Pulse of GovCon, and from the desk of Ryan Bradel, Partner at Ward & Berry PLLC, here is what government contractors should know while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: I. Introduction The last week has seen a stunning advance in the breadth of the Coronavirus...
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DoD to Reevaluate JEDI Contract after Court of Federal Claims Blocks Performance
On March 12, the US Department of Defense indicated in a court filing that it wished to re-evaluate its decision to award a multibillion-dollar cloud contract to Microsoft. That decision, a response to numerous “technical challenges presented by AWS,” signals a possible impending victory for Amazon in its bid protest. In February, a federal...
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Bid Protest Challenging Agency’s Evaluation of Protestor’s Criteria Is Denied When Evaluations Are Reasonable and Consistent with the Solicitation
On February 24, 2020, the GAO denied the bid protest of 22nd Century Technologies, Inc., which challenged the issuance of a task order to KCI-Acuity, LLC by the Department of State (DOS) on the grounds that DOS unreasonably evaluated the vendors’ quotations under the management and technical, price, and similar experience and past performance...
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DoD, GSA, and NASA to Issue Final Rule Conforming FAR to 2013 SBA Rule Regarding Multiple-Award Contracts and Small Businesses
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule, effective March 30, 2020, that will amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration (SBA). That SBA rule, made pursuant to section 1331 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, provides for partial set-asides and reserves,...
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What the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Means for Federal Employees
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) provides a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for claims against the United States for money damages for injury or loss of property caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his or her office or...
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