The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on June 16 that when Congress wrote “shall,” it meant “shall.” The result of its decision in Kingdomware Technologies Inc. v. United States will have major implications for the federal contracting efforts of veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and may well give VOSBs a big boost in their constant efforts...
Contractors Need to Scrutinize Unanimous Supreme Court Ruling on FCA Issue
By Pamela J. Bethel Government contractors and subcontractors need to carefully scrutinize the Supreme Court’s important June 16 ruling on a key False Claims Act. In a unanimous decision that has delighted lawyers for claimants under the FCA, the Court endorsed a potent theory of FCA liability known as “implied false certification.” The closely watched...
Baltimore Sewage Project Is Great Opportunity for City, and for Contractors
Earlier this month, Baltimore City reached an agreement with federal and state environmental agencies that commits the city to greatly reduce the amount of sewage that overflows in Baltimore within less than five years. The agreement is a modification to a 2002 consent decree between the Maryland Department of the Environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection...
Our Client, Dr. Kimberly Brown, Featured in Newspaper Profile
Our client, Dr. Kimberly Brown, who is president and CEO of Baltimore-based Amethyst Technologies, was featured in an article in the Baltimore Times on May 13, 2016. Dr. Brown founded the company in 2006, and it now has annual revenue of about $2 million and clients that include the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research,...
OSHA Penalties to Increase With Inflation — After 25 Years
We recently wrote about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new rules on inhalable silica, which will take effect in June. By August, another important change in OSHA enforcement will also take place – one that any company regulated by OSHA needs to be aware of. For the first time in more than 25 years,...
Construction Industry Note: New OSHA Rule Gets Tough on Workplace Silica
By Carol L. O’Riordan Any company that is in the construction industry needs to be aware of a new rule on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica that was just issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). On March 25, 2016, OSHA set forth its long-awaited final rule setting tougher standards for occupational...
What Are the Real Issues With Minority Contracting?
Governing magazine, a prestigious nonpartisan publication that covers state and local government issues, just published in its April 2016 issue a critical article that indicates that in some parts of the country, programs intended to help women- and minority-owned contractors are failing to do so successfully and that often, these contracts actually benefit nonminority companies....
Executive Partner Pamela Bethel Honored as a Black History Hero
Last week, Executive Partner Pamela Bethel was honored as a Black History Hero as a part of the 3rd Annual Black History Month Celebration hosted by Maryland Live! Casino and Md. Washington Minority Companies Association (MWMCA). Also included in the honorees were Sandra Eberhard, Executive Director, Women Presidents’ Educational Organization (WPEO); Eugene Grant, Mayor, Seat...
Congratulations to Rath Enterprises, Inc.
Congratulations to Rath Enterprises, Inc. DC’s Department of Transportation has certified Rath as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. DC-based Rath Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.rathinc.com/about.html) is capable of performing all aspects of environmental remediation and demolition services, including asbestos & lead removal, along with the remediation of mold, contaminated transformers, batteries, ballast, PCB oil and more. It already...
A Compliance Checklist for Federal Contractors — Part 1
We may not often think of them this way, but government contractors are perhaps the most heavily regulated sector of our economy. Any company that wishes to work steadily in the federal contracting field needs to be aware of dozens of statutes that govern its behavior. In fact, it will take more than one...