Brian S. Gocial and Dominique L. Casimir
As we summarized on March 31, 2020, CARES Act Section 3610 throws an immediate lifeline to qualifying firms whose workforce has been displaced by coronavirus COVID-19 shutdowns. On April 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued Class Deviation 2020-O0013 authorizing contracting officers to immediately use a new cost principle, DFARS 231.205-79, to implement section 3610; and on April 9, 2020, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense issued Implementation Guidance for Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and Frequently Asked Questions. This blog post summarizes the new Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) clause and guidance.
What is the purpose of CARES Act Section 3610 and DFARS 231.205-79?
Deviation 2020-O0013 establishes a new cost principle that will allow recovery of employee leave costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic where appropriate. The Class Deviation recognizes that “contractors are struggling to maintain a mission-ready workforce due to work site closures, personnel quarantines, and state and local restrictions on movement related to the COVID-19 pandemic that cannot be resolved through remote work.” To that end, contracting officers are instructed to use DFARS 231.205-79 “to appropriately balance flexibilities and limitations” and are directed to “consider the immediacy of the specific circumstances of the contractor involved and respond accordingly. The survival of many of the businesses the CARES Act is designed to assist may depend on this efficiency.” Continue reading “Implementation Guidance for Section 3610 of the CARES Act”
The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provides $2.2 trillion to stabilize the American economy as the country deals with the novel coronavirus COVID-19. In addition to directly providing many American families with cash stimulus payments, the CARES Act provides federal funds, grants, loan guarantees, and other resources to a wide variety of entities to help them combat the virus and weather the storm of its effects. These include state, local, and tribal governments; hospitals and healthcare workers; law enforcement and first responders; scientific research institutions; small businesses; local schools and universities; and federal contractors.