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New Pro-Competitive Restrictions On DoD Prototype Line Items and Options

Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.18.10

On June 8, 2010, DoD issued an interim rule, intended to prevent competitively awarded contracts for new technology from becoming noncompetitive efforts long-term. The interim DFARS provisions require that contract line item purchases and contract options must be limited to the minimum number of initial or additional prototype items that will allow for timely competitive solicitation and award of a follow-on development or production contract for those items; that the term of the contract line item or contract option cannot be longer than 12 months; and that the dollar value of the work to be performed pursuant to the contract line item or contract option may not exceed three times the dollar value of the work previously performed under the contract or $20 million, whichever is less.

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.05.26

DOL’s Proposed Independent Contractor Rule Reverts to Prioritize Two Core Factors – Likely Limiting Misclassification Claims by Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed another revision to independent contractor regulations, one that would provide for more leeway in classifying workers as contractors. DOL’s proposed rule, published on February 26, 2026, would rescind the Biden DOL’s March 2024 independent contractor regulation and reinstate a framework substantially tracking the prior Trump rule of January 2021. The proposed rule would also apply the narrower analysis to worker classifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The comment period closes in late April 2026; until then, the 2024 rule remains in effect for purposes of private litigation....