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Industrial Base Sole-Source Award Deficient

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 04.04.14

In Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC; Minden Air Corp. (Mar. 31, 2014), GAO agreed with protesters, including one represented by Crowell & Moring, that the U.S. Forest Service had unlawfully awarded a sole-source contract with a potential value of nearly $500 million. After extensive briefing and a two-day hearing, GAO found that the sole-source award was invalid because the true basis for award had been honoring a settlement agreement promise to award the contract and the Justification & Approval supporting the award both (i) improperly relied on the factually inapplicable "industrial base" exception to the full and open competition requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act and (ii) failed to identify the critical facts relevant to the award.


Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.24.26

DOL Issues Proposed Rule On “Joint Employment”

On April 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlining a new standard for “joint employment” — under which separate entities will be found jointly liable for the other’s violations — under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MPSA). The Proposed Rule purports to standardize the definition of “joint employment” across all three laws to create “clarity” and “uniformity” for employers and employees alike....