Documents

The federal contracting ethics and compliance environment is rapidly evolving. The following selected resources and frequently updated websites can link you to the latest developments affecting your government related business.

COMMENT PERIOD REOPENED
Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2007-018, Organizational
Conflicts of Interest

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; Reopening of comment
period.

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are seeking comments on
changes to the proposed rule, FAR Case 2007-006, Contractor Compliance
Program and Integrity Reporting, published in the Federal Register at
72 FR 64019, November 14, 2007, for which the initial comment period
has closed, that may be included in the final rule. The Councils do not
contemplate publishing a final or interim rule until public comments
are received and considered on the specific changes discussed further
in this document.

On June 9, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of restricting the whistleblower provisions of the U.S. False Claims Act. Now, the Court ruled, a whistleblower needs to prove that there was more than just a false statement involved in any sort of government fund or contract. Instead, an employee must prove that the company “intended that the false statement is ‘material’.”
The ruling stems from a case involving Navy contractors building destroyers. The Navy contracted with two different shipyards, which required generators. The shipyards subcontracted with Allison Engine Company to build the generators with bases and enclosures. Allison subcontracted with General Tool Co. (GTC) to assemble the generators, and GTC in turn outsourced the work of building the generators' bases and enclosures to yet another firm, SOFCO. All of the subcontracts reportedly included clauses that required products to have a “certificate of performance,” guaranteeing they met Navy standards. Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, two GTC employees blew the whistle on Allison and the subcontractor that built the bases and enclosures, for allegedly issuing certificates of performance under false pretenses.
A federal appeals court sided with the two employees, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision sending it back to the lower courts.

The official syllabus follows and the full opinion is available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-214.ZO.html

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule
amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to address the
requirements for a contractor code of business ethics and conduct and
the display of Federal agency Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
Fraud Hotline Posters.

With the support of new federal rules governing ethics and compliance programs for government contractors (72 Fed. Reg. 7588 and 65,873 - FAR proposed rule scheduled to go into effect on December 24, 2007)


[Federal Register: November 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 225)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 65873-65882]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23no07-13]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 2, 3, and 52

[FAC 2005-22; FAR Case 2006-007; Item II; Docket 2007-0001; Sequence 1]
RIN 9000-AK67


Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2006-007, Contractor
Code of Business Ethics and Conduct

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense
Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule
amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to address the
requirements for a contractor code of business ethics and conduct and
the display of Federal agency Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
Fraud Hotline Posters.

DATES: Effective Date: December 24, 2007

An article by Grace in the September 2007 Privacy & Data Security Law Journal.