Digital Government
Can a subcontractor submit federal claims?
A company representative raised the following issue: Can a subcontractor on a government contract submit a claim directly against the U.S. government? If so, what are the procedures? Claims against the federal government that are based in contract are governed primarily by the Contract Disputes Act
Digital Government
Are employees entitled to notice before a layoff?
A company official asked the following question: Our company has a major contract that will be coming to an end soon. Are we obligated to give any advance notice to our employees regarding possible layoffs? What are the consequences if notice is not given? This question raises a number of potential
Digital Government
What are the rules for task-order pacts?
Several readers have raised the following topic: What are the rules for placing task orders under multipleaward, indefinitequantity contracts? An indefinitequantity contract is any contract that defines the parties' obligations primarily through the use of minimum and maximum ordering rules inst
Digital Government
How do agencies check references?
A reader asked the following question: Many solicitations require offerors to identify references in their proposals to assist agencies in the evaluation of the companies' experience or past performance. Is an agency obligated to check with all the listed references? What are the rules on reference
Digital Government
What is an 'exempt' employee?
An employee with a contractor raised the following topic: Some of the employees in our company are paid on an hourly basis. They receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours per week. However, many of the employees are paid on a salary basis and do not receive overtime pay. The company says
Digital Government
A LEGAL VIEW: Is a plan needed for subcontracting?
A contractor raised the following topic: We have been told that our company needs to develop a plan for subcontracting with small businesses to receive a government contract. Is this true? What should be in the plan?
Digital Government
Can Congress direct who wins a contract?
A corporate official asked the following question: Agencies frequently base their requests for appropriations to Congress on particular contractors' products and services. Often committee reports, which accompany the appropriations, also identify specific companies. Can an agency rely on these repo
Digital Government
What are the effects of foreign ownership?
A private company asked the following question: May a business that is owned or controlled by a foreign organization bid on a classified government contract? If so, are any special approvals required? In general, a prospective offeror on a government contract is not required to have a socalled fac
Digital Government
Where does a software product originate?
A contractor raised the following topic: How do the countryoforigin rules that cover government contracting apply to computer software? In government procurements, the determination of a product's 'country of origin' is very important. Under the Buy American Act, agencies give preference to items
Digital Government
A Legal View: What is the impact of filing for bankruptcy?
A company official asked the following question: Because of cash flow issues, our company is considering filing for bankruptcy protection in order to reorganize our business.
Digital Government
What would constitute industrial espionage?
An industry representative asked the following question: Competing companies sometimes go to considerable lengths to gather information on each other. Are there limits on how far a company can go in this area? What are the potential impacts of using information gained through industrial espionage?
Digital Government
How are mapping services acquired?
A reader raised the following topic: A federal agency plans to buy automated mapping products and services. The agency claims the procurement is exempt from the Competition in Contracting Act's requirement to consider price or cost when selecting an offeror. Is this correct, and if so, why are the
Digital Government
A Legal View: What are rules when compatibility is limited?
A company executive raised the following topic Now that the Federal Information Resources Management Regulation (FIRMR) is gone, what are the rules on compatibilitylimited acquisitions
Digital Government
What constitutes insider trading?
Available at www.fcw.com A reader raised the following topic: Many government contractors are publicly traded corporations. Sometimes, rumors of impending contract awards to these companies circulate. What are the limitations on using this information in private investment decisions? What constitut
Digital Government
A Legal View: What is meant by 'withholding and setoff?'
After staking out a hard line against the government awarding contracts to itself, cooler heads seem to be prevailing on Capitol Hill.
Digital Government
How do share-in-savings contracts work?
A government official raised the following topic: I have heard a lot about 'shareinsavings' provisions in government contracts. What are these and how do they work? For several years a number of commentators have been promoting the idea that a government agency and a contractor should share the s
Digital Government
What are the rules on unsolicited proposals?
A company official raised the following topic: We believe that our company has some innovative ideas that we'd like to offer the government. What are the rules on submitting unsolicited proposals to government agencies?
Digital Government
Do other laws establish exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act?
In response to a recent column about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) a reader suggested that the fiscal 1997 National Defense Authorization Act had established an important exemption to FOIA for certain vendorproposal documents. Another reader has asked if a vendor could protect documents fr
Digital Government
Can contract proposals be released under the Freedom of Information Act?
A reader asked the following question: To what extent is an agency allowed to release an offeror's proposal under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)? This is another of those seemingly simple questions to which the answer is surprisingly complex. As set forth in FOIA Exemption 4 the act does not
Digital Government
How can potential organizational conflicts of interest be avoided?
A company official raised the following topic: When may an agency waive an organizational conflict of interest (OCI)? How can potential conflicts be avoided? As discussed in previous columns OCIs arise when a person is unable or perceived as unable to render impartial advice to the government or wh
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