FAR Deviation

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As we have previously covered in this blog, as a result of President Trump’s executive order, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is undergoing an extensive and unprecedented rewrite. While many of us were enjoying the relaxation of summer days (drifting away to summer nights), the Trump administration has been busy issuing rolling updates to the FAR, which are poised to dramatically reshape the federal acquisition landscape. On August 14, 2025, the FAR Council told us more (told us more) by issuing draft revisions to FAR Parts 4, 8, 12, and 40. The revisions to FAR Part 12 are particularly noteworthy, as they go to the heart of the executive order’s policy statement that the federal procurement system should be “agile, effective, and efficient” and that “undue barriers” should be removed from federal procurement.Continue Reading Summer Sun, Something’s Begun, But (Oh, Oh) Those FAR Part 12 Rewrites

For those who grew up gripping a joystick and dodging alien fire in Defender, riding ostriches through floating platforms in Joust, or crossing a hectic freeway in Frogger, winning wasn’t about memorizing rules; it was about adapting fast, reading the patterns, and leveling up. That same urgency now applies to federal information and communication technology (ICT) contractors. A sweeping overhaul of FAR Part 39 has just been released, and while it may not blink and beep like a cabinet in a darkened arcade, it’s just as demanding. There’s no attract mode here. The game has already started.Continue Reading FAR 2.0 Part 39 in Arcade Mode—How Federal IT Acquisition Just Hit Reset

Judge R. Stan Baker of the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued an order (Order) on December 7, 2021, enjoining the federal government “from enforcing the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in any state or territory of the United States of America.” This comes on the heels of the November 30, 2021 order by a federal court in Kentucky (see our article here) blocking the federal government’s ability to enforce the obligation embedded in clauses in federal government contracts and other instruments requiring employees of federal contractors with covered contracts in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee to be fully vaccinated by January 18, 2022.
Continue Reading Georgia Federal Court Blocks Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Nationwide

The Government’s enforcement of contract provisions implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate with regard to federal contractors and subcontractors required by President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 (the EO) was preliminarily enjoined by a federal court in Kentucky in a case brought by the states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee (and two Ohio sheriffs). In his Opinion and Order of November 30, 2021 (the Order), Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (the Kentucky court) concluded, among other findings, that it was likely that the President exceeded his authority under laws delegating to the President management of federal procurement and requiring federal agencies to engage in “full and open competition” procurements. The court also raised concerns about whether the President’s actions violated the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution and the “nondelegation doctrine,” a constitutional principle recognized by the US Supreme Court that Congress does not have unlimited discretion in delegating to the President the power to make laws.
Continue Reading Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Enjoined in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee: The Implications

UPDATE: The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued updated Guidance on November 10 confirming that the date a covered employee must be fully vaccinated is January 18, 2022.

With the addition of new answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on November 1, and the November 4 “Fact Sheet” issued by the White House accompanying the rollout of the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccination requirements for, respectively, employers with 100 or more employees and health care workers and facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid, federal contractors have been given additional breathing room to address recalcitrant covered employees who are resisting the vaccination mandate.Continue Reading Important Updates on Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate—Deadline Extended and Flexibility Added

The General Services Administration (GSA) released its Class Deviation CD-2021-13 (the GSA Deviation), which, effective immediately, “provides instructions for the GSA acquisition workforce on when to include a new clause [i.e., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.223-99] (the Clause) in GSA solicitations and contracts and contract-like instruments.” Unlike the recent instructions and directions provided by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) and the Department of Defense (DoD) and its DFARS Class Deviation (discussed in detail here), the GSA provided “GSA-specific implementation timelines for solicitations, new contracts, and existing contracts” to ensure that by October 8, 2021, all covered solicitations, new contracts, and existing contracts subject to Executive Order 14042, “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors” (EO 14042), adhere to its mandates and the evolving guidance issued by the Safer Federal Task Force. This implementation includes the insertion of the Clause into new and existing GSA solicitations and Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts awarded after October 15, 2021, and new contracts and leases awarded after November 14, 2021. The instruction applies broadly even to solicitations or contracts that have a value equal to or less than the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) or are for the supply of products (either solely for products or for products and services). Moreover, the GSA is instructing its contracting officers to issue a letter to all existing contractors asking for their consent to a modification including the Clause. The end result is the expectation that virtually all GSA contracts and contract-like instruments will require all covered employees to be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021. An analysis of the GSA Deviation’s key points, highlighting the confusion related to subcontract flow-downs, follows below.
Continue Reading This Will Only Hurt a Bit: The GSA Mandates COVID-19 Vaccines in Nearly All Existing Contract Types