Free Training for Prevailing Wage Requirements on Federal Contracts
The U.S. Department of Labor will offer a free training session in Philadelphia on prevailing wage requirements for federal contracts. The training will be conducted on July 10-12. This training is not just for federal government contractors. For example, federal agencies must ensure that recipients of assistance funded by federal stimulus funds require contractors and […]
Bridge Contractor Found Guilty in 15-Year DBE Scheme
Once again, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s DBE program is in the news, with a warning for contractors who might think they can evade the DBE rules applicable to federally funded public contracts. In April 2012, the owner of Schuylkill Products, Inc., a Pennsylvania bridge contractor, was found guilty on 26 of 30 charges in an […]
Public Bidding 101: Bidder Responsibility
This is one in a continuing series of posts on the basic tenets of public bidding in Pennsylvania. The subject of today’s post is bidder responsibility. “Responsibilty” refers to the qualifications, including competence and experience, of a bidder to perform a public contract. Whether a bidder is responsible or qualified to receive a contract award is ordinarily left up to the discretion […]
Campaign Finance Laws Still Affect Public Contractors
Don’t let the era of SuperPACs and free corporate election spending fool you – even proper contributions to candidates can still bar contractors from receiving future government contracts. The recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. FEC (2010), struck down prohibitions against independent expenditures made by corporate entities toward influencing an election. In the wake of the Citizens United decision, Pennsylvania’s […]
$590 Million Deal on Philadelphia Sludge Plant Exposed
In 2008, the City of Philadelphia reached a deal to award a multi-million dollar contract to a private firm to operate a City sludge plant, known as the Biosolids Recycling Center. After reading a recently-issued opinion by U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell, it would appear that the deal and the manner in which it […]
Denial of WBE Certification Non-Reviewable
Late last year, the Commonwealth Court ruled in Wilco Mechanical Services, Inc. v. Department of General Services that a DGS decision denying a company’s application for certification under DGS regulations as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) was not reviewable. Certification as a WBE would have allowed the company to participate on state contracts as a subcontractor, […]
City of Phila. Retains Firms for $6.5 Billion Airport Expansion Project
The City of Philadelphia has selected a joint venture of three companies to manage the planning and construction of a $6.5 billion and 12- to 15-year expansion project at the Philadelphia International Airport. The lead firm is CH2M HILL, a Denver-based engineering and construction firm with offices in Philadelphia. The management contract is valued at […]
No Contract Formed Where Contractor Uses Subcontractor Quote on Public Bid
If a prime contractor bids to a public entity, uses a quote from a subcontractor, and identifies the subcontractor in its bid, is a contract formed between the prime and the sub if the public entity awards a contract to the prime? In Pennsylvania the answer is NO, according to a recent Commonwealth Court decision. In Ribarchak v. Municipal […]
Philadelphia School District Sued Over Contract Award To Minority Firm
The Philadelphia School District has been sued by a suburban, white-owned firm which lost out on a School District contract in favor of a minority-owned firm. The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that the firm, which lost a $7.5 million surveillance-camera project after former Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman allegedly intervened on behalf of a minority-owned […]
Christopher I. McCabe, Esq.
