​The Small Business Blog

In response to a request by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to review how federal agencies monitor the work performed by subcontractors under 8(a) contracts, the GAO released a report on September 16, 2014 titled 8(a) Subcontracting Limitations:  Continued Noncompliance with Monitoring Requirements Signals Need for Regulatory Change.  The GAO previously considered this same issue in April 2006 and January 2012, and in both instances the GAO found that subcontracting limitations were not being monitored by contracting officers.

On September 17, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCP) issued a proposed rule in response to Executive Order 13665, which was signed by President Obama on April 8, 2014, and directed the DOL to issue a proposed rule requiring pay transparency among federal contractors.  More specifically, EO 13665 prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against employees or applicants for discussing, disclosing or inquiring about compensation.