SmallGovCon Week In Review: August 21-25, 2017

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It has been a busy week that kicked off with a total solar eclipse.  I was on an airline heading to San Diego for 2017 Department of the Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event, so I missed the spectacle.  I didn’t get to wear eclipse glasses, but was well worth it to be part of that great annual procurement conference.  My travels aren’t over: next week, I’m off to Norman, Oklahoma to speak at the annual Indian County Business Summit.

While travel has me occasionally wondering which day of the week it is, I haven’t forgotten that it is time for your weekly dose of SmallGovCon Week In Review. This edition includes a tale of Davis-Bacon Act violations, a no-bid contract is now coming under fire (and protests), a new list of the top federal contractors has hit the shelves and much more.

  • DHS’s migration to a unified workforce training and performance management system has been dubbed a “textbook definition of waste.” [Federal News Radio]
  • Workers were kept in the dark about compensation they were owed under the Davis-Bacon Act after performing jobs involving hazardous material that resulted in them making $9.63 less per hour than required by the law. [NBC News]
  • Alliant 2 remains on schedule for award prior to winter of 2017; with GSA asking bidders to extend their offers through December 31. [Federal News Radio]
  • A bid protest has been filed against the VA for allegedly awarding Cerner a contract for its new EHR without conducting a competitive bidding process. [Healthcare IT News]
  • A recent report from the Office of Management and Budget on the DATA Act’s two-part Section 5 pilot, which covers federal grants and federal contracts, recommends three steps to help expedite the process. [Federal News Radio]
  • The 6th annual BGOV200 study was released this week, ranking the top 200 federal government contractors by value of prime, unclassified contracts awarded by U.S. government agencies in FY 2016. [Bloomberg Government]
  • National Defense Magazine takes a look at the importance of a written code of business ethics and conduct, which will help demonstrate a company’s intent to operate as a presently responsible contractor and help bolster ones reputation. [National Defense]