One morning in August 2011, the vice president of an information technology contractor for the federal government awoke, checked his BlackBerry and noticed something strange. Overnight, as court records would later go on to describe, someone had sent an email from the unnamed executive’s work account to a former employee. An internal investigation soon led to a federal probe by the FBI and the General Service Administration’s Office of Inspector General. Now, nearly two years after that unusual email, the former employee, Robert Edwin Steele, 38, stands convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., of 14…
Browsing: contracts
President Barack Obama wants agencies to consider requiring contractors on large-scale federal construction projects to enter into collective bargaining agreements. In an executive order issued this afternoon, Obama said the White House would encourage agencies to require so-called project labor agreements for facility, highway or other construction projects totaling at least $25 million. The union contracts would establish work rights and labor dispute procedures for all employees working for a contractor or subcontractor on a specific construction project. Obama said such work rules would ensure big construction projects don’t get bogged down by disputes among various companies working on a single…
The Energy Department just announced it’s awarded new contracts to 16 energy service companies to finance up to $80 billion in energy-savings projects at federal facilities over the next decade. Energy awarded the contracts under its Super Energy Savings Peformance Contracts (Super ESPC) program. Agencies will be able to issue task orders under the contracts for projects that cut energy and water consumption or costs, increase renewable energy use, and reduce operations and maintenance costs. As I reported back in September, the new contracts are larger in size and scope than existing ESPCs and are expected to spur significant growth in…