This week’s episode covers a False Claims Act update from DOJ, DOD COVID-19 vaccination plan of interest to contractors, final rule on LPTA, a Commerce final rule on information and communications technology or services, and range of executive orders issued by President Biden, and is hosted by partner Peter Eyre and associate Rina Gashaw. Crowell
COVID-19
Special Treatment—DoD’s Vaccination Distribution Plan for Some DoD Contractors


On January 7, 2021, Ms. Ellen M. Lord, on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, issued a memorandum for the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) regarding the DoD COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution Policy. This memo, along with the attached DoD guidance documents, the “Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Guidance”…
Section 3610 of the CARES Act Extended Until March 31, 2021






On Sunday, President Trump signed a combined COVID-Relief and Omnibus Spending Bill, The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which funds the Federal Government for FY 2021 and includes a variety of COVID-19-related relief measures. Among those measures, Section 1002 of the Act extends the reimbursement period for Section 3610 of the CARES Act, which…
PPP Borrowers May Require SBA Consent or Escrowing of PPP Loan Balance in Connection with “Change of Ownership” Transactions





On October 2, 2020 (almost two months after the August 10, 2020 commencement of the acceptance period for forgiveness applications), the Small Business Administration (SBA) released an SBA Procedural Notice (the “Notice”) concerning required procedures for change of ownership of an entity that has received PPP loans (the “PPP Borrower”). Under the Notice, SBA approval…
Funds Today, Investigation Tomorrow: SBA OIG Warns of Serious Concerns of Rampant Fraud with COVID-19 Relief Funds and Calls for Immediate Action






On July 28, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report titled, “Serious Concerns of Potential Fraud in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program Pertaining to the Response to COVID-19.” The report identifies and summarizes OIG’s “serious concerns” of potential fraud and calls for “immediate attention and…
Coronavirus Update: The SBA Discloses Recipient Identity and Other Information for PPP Loans of $150,000 and Above





On July 6, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has made publicly available various types of information about all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and targeted media scrutiny has immediately followed. For loans of $150,000 and above, the SBA has released the loan range (e.g., $150,000 – 350,000, $1,000,000 – 2,000,000, $5,000,000 – 10,000,000) and…
Coronavirus Update: SBA and Treasury Release New Forgiveness Applications and Revise Interim Final Rules to Conform to New PPP Flexibility Act Requirements





On Wednesday June 17th, SBA and Treasury issued a revised Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application implementing the extended 24-week “covered period” and the reduction in payroll cost limitation on forgiveness from 75% to 60% of costs, per the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020 enacted June 5, 2020. In addition to revising…
Coronavirus Update: New Interim Final Rule Clarifies Key Changes in Paycheck Protection Program





On June 11, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) posted a new interim final rule (the IFR) which clarifies certain key changes made to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (Act). We addressed in a previous alert how the Act, signed into law on June 5, 2020,…
Coronavirus Update: President Signs New Paycheck Protection Program Changes into Law Offering Greater Flexibility






On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, which makes important changes to many aspects of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including extending the minimum maturity period, extending the forgiveness period, reducing the payroll cost limitation on forgiveness, while eliminating forgiveness if such reduced threshold is not…
Coronavirus Update: Recent FTC Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms in the Age of COVID-19




On April 8, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a blog post titled, “Using Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms,” that offers important lessons about the use of AI and algorithms in automated decision-making. The post begins by noting that headlines today tout rapid improvements in AI technology, and the use of more advanced…