Federal contractors, be sure to ask your kids or a young person what TikTok is (if you don’t already know), because those providing services to the federal government now have to take steps to ban it from employee’s devices in certain situations. A recent FAR rule has now implemented Congress’s ban on use of TikTok on government devices.
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FAR Proposed Rule: Incumbent Service Workers Need to be Hired
Once again, the incumbent service worker rule has had its pendulum swing back to the hiring of incumbent workers, reflecting a “general policy of the Federal Government that service contracts which succeed contracts for the same or similar services, and solicitations for such contracts, shall include a non-displacement clause.” This proposed rule would insert a contract clause requiring contractors who are awarded a service contract with an incumbent on it, to offer employment to the incumbent contractor employees, for performance of the contract. This is of course quite the shift from current regulations, but it also places many new contract compliance requirements on contractors awarded a new contract as they try and stand up performance.
Continue readingFAR Council Seeks to Address Climate Change in Federal Contracting
In response to an Executive Order, the FAR Council has recently proposed to amend the FAR in an effort to ensure that major federal procurements will minimize the risk of climate change. And DoD, GSA, and NASA sought the public’s input on the issue. Let’s take a closer look.
Continue readingCIO-SP4 Amendment 7 – Major Changes to Small Business Teaming Arrangements
CIO-SP4 proposals are now due August 3, 2021. Currently, seven bid protests have been filed with GAO. These amendments are now coming fast and furious. Amendment 6 went live on July 9, 2021, and 10 days later we have another new amendment. Below are some of the key changes in Amendment 7.
Continue readingFive Things You Should Know: Tips for Understanding and Using the FAR
Government contracting officials receive detailed training on the FAR. So do employees of some large contractors. But for many others in government contracting, particularly small businesses, there is no formal FAR training. For them, the FAR can seem overwhelming, even scary.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: the FAR is massive. In print form, which is how I read the FAR early in my career, you’re looking at a veritable brick of a book. You’d undoubtedly get some very nice definition by using copies of the FAR for bicep curls.
But, big as it is, the FAR isn’t quite as impenetrable as it might seem at first glance–especially if you know a few tricks. Here are my top five tips for understanding and using the FAR.
Continue readingReverse Auctions: Proposed Rule Poised to Strengthen Regulatory Framework
The DoD, NASA, and GSA have proposed new rules aimed at providing transparency for reverse auctions after GAO reports in 2013 and 2018 signaled the need for guidance on reverse auctions to achieve cost savings and reduce fees.
As context, the FAR was amended in 1997 to allow for the use of reverse auctions. Six agencies conducted approximately 15,000 reverse auctions in 2016 alone. Reverse auctions, despite their wide use, are not without controversy. Application of fees, and inability to verify actual cost savings plague the use of reverse auctions.
Private companies have developed software and services which companies use to, hopefully, increase their chances in reverse auctions.
As a result, a new proposed rule is open for comments here.
Continue readingFAR Final Rule: Increased Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds
The Federal Acquisition Regulation has officially been updated to increase the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold, effective August 31, 2020. Various federal agencies had already increased the thresholds through deviations, but this rule makes it official across the board. A few additional thresholds will increase due to inflation.
Read on for the details on how this could impact federal procurement.
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