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Small business activist wins interim victory against Pentagon, Sikorsky

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For four years, the small but vocal American Small Business League has argued that large federal contractors mislead agencies and the public by overstating their use of small businesses as subcontractors to meet statutory goals.

In U.S. District Court in San Francisco last Friday, attorneys for the advocacy group led by Lloyd Chapman and based in Petaluma, Calif., successfully pried out the previously non-public names of suppliers and other subcontractors used by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

The helicopter maker had joined with the Defense and Justice departments in seeking to withhold such information as proprietary when submitted to the Pentagon under its 27-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program, designed to measure corporate potential for increasing small business opportunities in subcontracting.

Small business booster Chapman has long challenged the Pentagon’s program as nonproductive and oriented mostly toward obfuscating the degree to which large contractors win defense business intended for smaller ones.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2017/11/small-business-activist-wins-interim-victory-against-pentagon-sikorsky/142611 

Government may disqualify contractors who use standard confidentiality language with employees and subcontractors

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Under a new FAR rule, standard language in confidentiality agreements could lead to disqualification from contracting or False Claims Act liability.

In January, the FAR Council issued a final rule regulating confidentiality agreements between prime contractors and their employees and subcontractors. The rule implements Section 743 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, Pub. L. 113-235 (Dec. 6, 2014).  As we previously reported, a proposed rule was issued in January of 2016 and a class deviation was issued by the Department of Defense late last year.  The final rule largely adopts the proposed rule’s language and applies to all solicitations and resultant contracts that are funded with fiscal year (FY) 2015 funds.  Contractor Employee Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements, 82 Fed. Reg. 4717 (Jan. 13, 2017).

In summary, the new FAR 52.203-19 bars contractors from requiring their employees or subcontractors to sign or comply with “internal confidentiality agreements or statements” that would prohibit them from reporting “waste, fraud, or abuse” on a federal contract.  FAR 52.203-19(b).  Contractors who disregard this rule are prohibited from receiving federal funds.  FAR 3.909-1(a).

Because of the broad reach and significant consequences of non-compliance, the contracting community should take notice of this new rule’s requirements.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2017/04/new-far-rule-government-may-disqualify-contractors-use-standard-confidentiality-language-employees-subcontractors/

Confidentiality agreements continue to pose potential compliance trap for contractors

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US DoD logoFederal contractors who require employees to sign confidentiality agreements—including those selling only commercial products or in small quantities—need to examine their agreements closely.

For the last two years, the government has sought to prohibit confidentiality agreements that restrict employees’ ability to report fraud, waste, or abuse to “designated investigative or law enforcement representative[s]” for federal agencies authorized to receive that information.”

Most recently, the Department of Defense issued a new class deviation on November 14, 2016 prohibiting DoD from using funds from recent appropriations to contract with companies using overbroad confidentiality agreements. While these restrictions may not be new, the deviation’s broad application and significant consequences mean that contractors should give close scrutiny to ensure any agreements with employees comply with the prohibition.

Specifics of the Latest Class Deviation

DoD’s recent class deviation prohibits DoD agencies from using any money appropriated by the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2017 (or other FY 2017 dollars authorized by future continuing resolutions) to contract with an entity whose confidentiality agreement prevents employees from reporting fraud, waste, or abuse.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2016/11/confidentiality-agreements-continue-pose-potential-compliance-trap-contractors/

Contractors beware: An overly broad confidentiality agreement could cost you!

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DFARSOn October 29, 2015, the Department of Defense (DoD) renewed the DFARS deviation implemented in February, which prohibits contracting with entities that require employees or subcontractors to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that prohibit, or otherwise restrict, such employee or subcontractor from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse.

Defense contractors should review their policies to ensure they meet the requirements of these new clauses.

Defense contractors and government contracts attorneys already may have noticed the deviation in solicitations issued since February.  The DoD memorandum instructs defense agencies to continue including two DFARS clauses in all future solicitations, including solicitations for the acquisition of commercial items under FAR Part 12.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=447280

 

Contractors now using encrypted calls and texts for legal advice

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With economic espionage and domestic surveillance creating a climate of cyber insecurity, some intellectual property attorneys now employ encrypted communications to correspond with federal contractor clients.

Tools such as RedPhone, a mobile voice app, and Silent Circle, a text, video and voice service, are among the more user-friendly technologies in use. Civil liberties activists, dissidents and some journalists have long resorted to cryptography to protect information, but some assembly was always required.  The new secret message techniques still require trading a little convenience for confidentiality.

In an attempt to promote wider adoption, and perhaps his business, James Denaro, a patent litigation attorney with the CipherLaw Group, tweeted  Friday night: “We use@Silent_Circle phone and text and encourage our clients to use it to contact us.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2013/08/contractors-now-using-encrypted-calls-and-text-legal-advice/69341/

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