While some may read the words “policy” and “compliance” and start to nod off, paying attention to these issues is vital to being a successful contractor.  Here are three recent developments of which all contractors need to be aware.

1.  DOD Issues Memo Encouraging Small Business Use:  DOD contracting officers are being encouraged to set-aside multiple award contract task orders to small businesses for purchases up to the Simplified Acquisition Threshold “to the maximum extent practicable” per a DOD acquisition policy memo issued in mid-April.  The memo also “reminds” DOD contracting professionals of their need to justify non-set aside actions and to include small business advocates as part of their acquisition planning.  The memo is the latest push to promote small business use specifically in the multiple award contract arena.

2.  Contractors Must Keep Track Of Local Minimum Wage Requirements:  While companies providing hourly rate services to the government may be well-versed in Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) and fair wage rate requirements, that may not be enough as more and more local governments are enacting their own prevailing wage requirements.  Contractors are still required to pay the local wage rate, should it be higher than federal standards.  It is especially important to keep tabs on these rates because contractors may not be allowed to increase their rates on previously negotiated federal contracts, as one contractor recently found out the hard way.  When setting pricing or cost baselines for a contract you “have to know the territory” to be successful.

3. Leave the Kicking Game to the NFL:  Yet another contractor, and federal contracting official, were recently convicted of a scheme at the VA where the contractor paid over $200,000 in kickbacks to a contract specialist to recommend renting or leasing his company’s medical equipment, even when the medical customer asked for it to just be purchases outright.  The agreement resulted in the VA overpaying for the covered items by more than $1.3 million.  The contractor, 59, will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison, while the contract specialist may receive a fine and/or a minimum sentence.

Anyone thinking of committing fraud needs to understand that doing so could substantially alter their life.  Left unsaid is whether the contractor will lose his family, his house, and other possessions.  That’s a lot more than a million dollars.