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Back Again: U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule on Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers [Alert]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts Rule is back in effect and will apply to all new SCA-covered solicitations and contracts issued after February 12, 2024.

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Contracting with the government — whether it be federal, state, or local government — presents a unique set of complexities. Navigating those complexities often requires counsel experienced in the full life cycle of a government contract. Cozen O’Connor has an interdisciplinary team of Government Contracts attorneys ready to assist clients in all phases of the process.  

Our team includes lawyers who have held high-level positions and handled procurement throughout government, including former senior lawyers in offices of state attorneys general; those who have served in federal administrative agencies; the former Chief Operating Officer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and senior vice president and general counsel of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Our Government Contracts attorneys have experience with a wide range of industries and related state and federal agencies, including construction, professional services, defense, health care, engineering, technology, maritime, aviation, and transportation. We regularly work with lawyers in our Construction, Transportation and Trade, and White Collar Defense & Investigations groups and leverage lawyers in these practices when government contracts issues arise that would require their unique skillsets.

Our services include the following:

• analyzing procurement schemes and solicitations;
• assisting with developing capture strategies;
• preparing proposals and bids;
• assessing requirements imposed by labor standards statutes (such as the Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act) as well as Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) obligations;
• conducting negotiations with contracting agencies;
• protesting deficiencies or ambiguities in government solicitations before bids or best and final offers;
• protesting or defending the award process;
• conducting due diligence for M&A transactions;
• novating contracts;
• negotiating change orders;
• assessing a wide range of government compliance issues, including the effect of relevant statutes or actions by government agencies on contract performance;
• handling contract disputes arising during performance; and
• defending clients facing suspension, debarment or other punitive measures.

Throughout our decades of experience, we have successfully represented clients in bid protests before the General Accountability Office (GAO) and contract disputes before contracting officers, boards of contract appeals, and various state and federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. For example, the GAO sustained a protest we brought that challenged certain technical restrictions in a U.S. Forest Service solicitation for aerial firefighting services. Our attorneys recently successfully resolved a matter at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) involving a multimillion-dollar termination for convenience claim. One of our attorneys also recently resolved, with no adverse findings to the client, a DOL Wage & Hour Service Contract Act compliance audit involving thousands of employees with the potential risk of millions of dollars of back wages. We also have substantial experience with debarment and suspension proceedings, including representing a very large Philadelphia-based company in proceedings with the General Services Administration, as well as experience handling high-stakes investigations alleging violations of federal procurement statutes including the False Claims Act.

Our team also helps clients cut through the tangle of red tape that can make the government contracting process seem unnavigable, from the initial decision to pursue a contract, to crafting the proposal, to bid protests and beyond. With respect to new procurements, our Government Contracts attorneys work alongside Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies professionals to help clients identify opportunities at every level of government. We know which members have discretionary funds to allocate, what legislative or executive decisions will ultimately lead to new funding, and when programs are likely to be renewed. Our strength lies in understanding the procurement process, pulling all the pieces together, and developing short- and long-term strategies that benefit our clients every step of the way.