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Services In Contract Don't Trump "Non-Manufacturer Rule"

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.13.06

In Rotech Healthcare Inc. v. United States (July 24, 2006), a pre-award bid protest of small business set-aside procurements, the Court of Federal Claims held that the Small Business Act's "non-manufacturer rule" requires recipients of small business set-aside contracts to provide products only of domestic small business manufacturers, even if the contract is for both products and services. Finding, inter alia, that the statute is "clear and unambiguous" in its application of the rule to "any" contract for the supply of a product, Judge Bush rejected government pleas for deference to SBA's less-restrictive applications of the rule and permanently enjoined set-aside awards to offerors who failed to certify compliance.

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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....