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Price Realism Requirement Must Be Stated to Allow Unacceptability Finding

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.25.15

In W.P. Tax & Accounting Group (Nov. 13, 2015), GAO reminded agencies that, in fixed-price procurements, below-cost pricing is not inherently improper and cannot serve as the basis for a technical unacceptability finding when the solicitation does not provide for a price realism evaluation. Because the solicitation in W.P. said nothing about a price realism evaluation, GAO overturned the agency's rejection of the low-priced vendor's quotation as technically unacceptable and recommended that the agency either reevaluate the vendor's quotation against the stated evaluation criteria or amend the solicitation to provide for a price realism evaluation.


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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....