Just out — a White House memorandum directing all federal contracting agencies to hire labor advisors to help coordinate with DOL and comply with the laws regarding labor and employment which pertain to federal procurements. This includes especially the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, but also many other labor requirements and Executive Orders.
Read MoreDOJ has issued guidance about how trade secrets and commercial or financial information should be treated under new Supreme Court precedent interpreting the Freedom of Information Act. This guidance hopefully will achieve the Court’s “fair reading” of the term “confidential” when it comes to determining whether information should be exempt from FOIA disclosures.
Read MoreLast fall, the Supreme Court held in Encino Motorcars LLC v. Navarro that statutes should not be construed so as to achieve perceived legislative goals where there is no “textual reason” why they should be given anything other than a “fair reading.” My colleagues and I wondered whether the “fair reading” concept might show up again. Well, it did. Enter Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media.
Read MoreFederal contractors frequently face the release of their confidential information as a result of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). On the surface, FOIA exemption 4 should protect such information from disclosure. However, long-standing precedent required contractors to establish they would suffer substantial competitive harm if their information was released. The Supreme Court today handed down a game-changing decision that could greatly simplify contractors’ efforts to keep their sensitive information secure from disclosure.
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