In Ology Bioservices, Inc., ASBCA No. 62633 (May 20, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the Board) held that the Government could not assess a penalty on the contractor’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 compensation costs for being expressly unallowable when the Government delayed publishing the compensation cap for FY 2013 by more
After a U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining implementation of the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” final rule (discussed here), OFPP issued a Memorandum for Chief Acquisition Officers on October 25 instructing federal agencies to refrain from implementing the enjoined portions of the final rule, and to “immediately” amend any solicitations containing
On May 4, 2016, the FAR Council’s draft final rules and the Department of Labor’s draft final guidance implementing the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order arrived at the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review, setting in motion the final steps prior to the issuance of burdensome new compliance
In an August 3 letter to eight committee and subcommittee chairs, the FAR Council and the Department of Labor indicated that the comment period for the “Fair Pay Safe Workplaces” proposed FAR Rule and related DOL Guidance would be extended to August 26 (from the current date of August 11, 2015). On July 15, as
On July 15, 2015, the Chairmen of the House committees of jurisdiction sent a letter to Labor Secretary Tom Perez and OFPP Administrator Anne Rung regarding the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Proposed Rule and Guidance. Citing the myriad legal, procedural and substantive flaws in the EO and resulting Proposed Rule and Guidance (previously discussed
On June 1, 2015, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) released a Memorandum for Chief Acquisition Officers and Senior Procurement Executives to provide guidance on “Effective Use of Reverse Auctions.”[1] Reverse auctions are a web-based procurement tool that allows sellers to compete with successively lower bids to obtain awards for products and services. Although the use of reverse auctions by contracting agencies has been steadily increasing (nearly tripling from 7,193 actions to 19,688 between FY 2008 and FY 2012, reaching a value of $828 million), the tool is not currently addressed under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”). A December 2013 Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report highlighted the growing trend in use of this tool and called upon OFPP to issue comprehensive government-wide guidance.[2] In response, OFPP’s June 1, 2015 memorandum provided a set of “reminders” to help contracting officers maximize the potential benefits of this tool.
This article briefly explains how reverse auctions work, identifies trends in use, and summarizes highlights of OFPP’s recommendations that may impact future use of reverse auctions.
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