A Dec. 14, 2011, ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit greatly expanded a general contractor’s exposure for a subcontractor’s safety violations when working on a multi-employer construction site. While the multi-employer worksite liability doctrine has been applied in other jurisdictions, this case, Summit Contractors, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and...
Month: January 2012
Government Contractors Get 7-Day Review Period to Challenge Publication of Data
By Carol L. O’Riordan and Selena Brady Government contractors will now have a slightly better means of challenging the possible release to the general public of information on them that may actually be exempt from publication under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). On January 3, 2012, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, which helps coordinate...
Will Obama Reorganization Plan Be a Boon to Small Businesses?
By Carol L. O’Riordan On January 13, 2012, President Barack Obama announced a proposed major government reorganization that would combine the Small Business Administration with five other agencies to create a new, yet unnamed umbrella agency that handles issues of commerce and trade. This step requires the approval of Congress, which at this point appears...
Task Force Meeting Will Give Veterans an ‘Open Mike’ on Contracting
By Carol L. O’Riordan Veterans who are federal contractors under the government’s various small business programs, or would like to become contractors, will have a chance to vent their concerns or express their praise at an upcoming public meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development. The Veterans Administration is one of...
Cordray Appointment Is Signal to Industry to Get Its House in Order
By Pamela J. Bethel Now that President Obama has used his recess appointment power and installed Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Cordray has wasted no time in asserting his priorities and getting started with his regulatory agenda. Under the Dodd-Frank law that set up the CFPB to curb...