Compliance Stuff

Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia has enacted a new pay transparency law requiring employers with Virginia employees to disclose compensation ranges and follow new restrictions on salary history. The law applies broadly and creates both enforcement risk and private litigation exposure. Employers with employees in Virginia should act now to ensure compliance with the new pay transparency law. What the Virginia Law Requires Set and disclose good ‑ faith pay ranges in postings. Employers must disclose the wage, salary, or wage/salary range in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity, and must set that range in good faith. Do not seek or rely on salary history. Employers may not seek an applicant’s wage or salary history, rely on it in considering the person for employment, or rely on it to set pay upon hire with a limited exception: If the candidate voluntarily discloses their salary history, without prompting after an initial o...

For better or worse, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the legal industry. The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recently decided  Bramstedt Surgical Inc. [1] , dedicating three pages to warnings about penalties it could have imposed on the protester and protester’s counsel for incorrect citations . For those tracking GAO’s recent handling of protesters and lawyers who file documents that appear to be riddled with AI-hallucinated citations or legal arguments citing to cases that do not stand for the premise alluded to, the decision comes as no surprise. Nevertheless, the  Bramstedt  decision serves as a stark reminder that while AI can be a useful tool, it can also create serious professional and legal exposure when used without proper oversight .  In this blog, we will explain why GAO’s decision should be a wake-up call for government contractors relying on AI for their protests , identify key risks protesters need to understand before using AI, a...

On October 1, 2025, Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill to keep the federal government open. Three weeks have passed, and there is still no clear path forward. With each passing day, Republicans and Democrats alike become further entrenched in their positions, convinced that their cause is just. As a result, hardworking Americans, their families, and their businesses suffer. Government representatives who contend that holding out for an uncompromising win will be beneficial in the long run fail to appreciate the extent of the ongoing harm, and that whatever benefits may materialize in the future are quickly being erased by the damage inflicted now on so many Americans, as well as the millions of small businesses—government contractors and commercial firms alike—that both parties agree form the backbone of the U.S. economy.   Business leaders are uniquely situated as they have a direct view of the negative impact of the shutdown on their companies, their employees, and t...

  The recent rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6—governing “Competition Requirements”—is prompting questions about whether the changes may signal a shift in federal small business contracting policy . In particular, the removal of explicit references to certain socioeconomic program provisions raises concerns in the small business community.   In this blog, PilieroMazza dissects the FAR Part 6 rewrite, concluding that most revisions appear to be structural rather than substantive. However, the unresolved status of the “Rule of Two” continues to raise concerns regarding the protection of small business set-aside opportunities. A. The Rule of Two: Why Statutory Codification Is Essential As most federal contractors are well aware, the FAR Overhaul is well underway, with an overarching goal of eliminating regulations that are not explicitly grounded in statutory authority. While we have yet to see the revised FAR Part 19—which currently houses the “Rule of T...

  The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has again issued new Service Contract Act (SCA) health and welfare (H&W) rates. Effective July 7, 2025, WHD increased the prevailing H&W fringe benefits from a rate of $5.36 per hour to $5.55 per hour . Where a contractor is obligated to comply with Executive Order (EO) 13706 sick leave obligations, the rates increased from $4.93 per hour to $5.09 per hour. Updated rates of $2.42 per hour (without the EO) and $1.96 (with the EO) also apply to employees in Hawaii covered by the Hawaii Prepaid Health Act.   For government contractors with an existing SCA contract, obtaining a new SCA contract, renewing options, or modifying existing contracts with a new wage determination, PilieroMazza covers what you need to know below .   Should I increase H&W rates on all of my SCA contracts now? No. Although the new wage determinations have been issued by DOL, the only H&W rate that is applicable to your cont...