Tag Archives: mandatory sick leave

SmallGovCon Week In Review: April 17-21, 2017

Posted on by

I was fortunate enough to spend the beginning half of my week speaking at the 2017 SAME Small Business Symposium in Bremerton, Washington. It was a wonderful event and it was nice to be able to see so many familiar faces (and make some new acquaintances). I am back in the office to wrap up the week and bring you yet another SmallGovCon Week In Review.

In this week’s edition: former President Obama’s “mandatory sick leave” Executive Order may remain on the books after all, IDIQ contracts made up about one-third of all federal contracting spending over a four-year period, contractors react to President Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, and much  more. Continue reading →

Trump Won’t Repeal Obama’s Order Prohibiting Contractor LGBTQ Discrimination

Posted on by

We are quickly approaching our 1000th blog post on the SmallGovCon blog. To celebrate we want to reward one lucky reader with a free one hour custom webinar for up to 50 people presented by Steven Koprince on the government contracting topic of your choice! You can enter by using the hashtag #SGC1000 on Twitter or Facebook just by telling us why you read the blog or what you love most about. You can also simply fill out this form to be entered. Good Luck!

President Donald Trump won’t repeal former President Obama’s 2014 Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

According to CNN and other news outlets, the new Administration will allow Executive Order 13672 to remain on the books.  The Executive Order, which was codified in the FAR in 2015, adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories under the FAR’s Equal Opportunity clause, FAR 52.222-26.

In recent days, the new Administration had faced repeated questions about whether Executive Order 13672 would remain in place.  While this week’s announcement puts those questions to rest, the fate of other government contracts Executive Orders signed by President Obama, such as the so-called “mandatory sick leave” Executive Order, remains uncertain.  My colleagues and I will keep you posted.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: December 12-16, 2016

Posted on by

This winter’s first polar vortex is upon us, and although much of the country has been getting hit with snow, Kansas has managed to stay mostly snow free with temperatures centered around a balmy 30 degrees. As the vortex sweeps its way out, we are looking to get our first dose of really cold weather with lows in the teens this weekend. Weekends like this are perfect to spend time with family and daydream about being on a beach–or anyplace that does not require 10+ minutes of preparation just to leave the driveway.

While much of the nation prepares to dig itself out from a winter snowstorm, there is still plenty happening in the world of government contracts. In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the FAR Council issues a rule responding to a judge’s injunction of much of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, a Virginia contractor will cough up $1 million to settle bid rigging and kickback allegations, and much more.

Continue reading →

SmallGovCon Week In Review: February 22-26, 2016

Posted on by

It was a busy week for me in Washington, DC.  The highlight was attending oral arguments in Kingdomware Technologies v. United States on Monday.  Although I was supposed to head back to Lawrence Wednesday night, a bout of severe weather led to the cancellation of my flight–and two extra unscheduled nights in DC.

Now that I’m finally back here in Lawrence, it’s time for our weekly dose of government contracting news.  In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, SAM problems lead to a pre-award protest, an uphill battle for women-owned businesses seeking federal contracts, the “worst website in government” is getting an upgrade and much more.

Continue reading →