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Jasmine Wang

Jasmine Wang represents government contractors on complex regulatory matters at all stages of the public procurement process. Her multi-faceted practice encompasses numerous industries, where she advises clients on compliance, enforcement, and the risks associated with various regulatory regimes.

Jasmine’s experience includes coordinating due diligence processes in large scale M&A transactions involving government contracts, advising companies on cutting edge legislative, litigation, and regulatory developments, and representing clients in bid protests, including before the Small Business Administration (SBA), and other adversarial matters. Jasmine’s practice also focuses on issues at the intersection of government contracts and employment law, where she counsels clients on compliance and enforcement questions arising from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and contractor obligations under the Davis-Bacon Act and CHIPS Act.

Before joining the firm, Jasmine clerked for The Honorable Andrew S. Hanen in the Southern District of Texas. She maintains an active pro bono practice focused on civil rights and reproductive justice.

 

Contact:Read more about Jasmine WangEmail

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced its annual update to the hourly minimum wage for federal contract workers.  Beginning January 1, 2025, the minimum wage for employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase from $17.20 to $17.75 per hour.  The increase applies to tipped and non-tipped employees, as well as employees with disabilities.

The DOL announcement follows President Biden’s Executive Order 14026, issued in April 2021, to “promote economy and efficiency in procurement by contracting with sources that adequately compensate their workers.”  We discuss the types of federal contracts and workers subject to the wage rate increase, and its implications for contractors, below.Continue Reading Bigger Pay Days Are Coming for Some Federal Contract Workers in 2025

Recently, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) unveiled new guidance regarding the use of automated systems and artificial intelligence (collectively referred to as “AI”) in the workplace.  This guidance was issued as a part of a series of actions that the Biden administration has taken to address AI in various contexts and industries. 

The OFCCP guidance follows President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which directed the Secretary of Labor to “publish guidance for Federal contractors regarding nondiscrimination in hiring involving AI and other technology-based hiring systems.”  Specifically, the guidance addresses how federal prime contractors and subcontractors should approach employment nondiscrimination risks and best practices when using AI in the context of the laws that OFCCP enforces.Continue Reading Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Releases New Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Federal Contracting Employment Processes

Today, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “ANPRM”) describing the agencies’ plan to implement Section 5949 of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for FY 23 (Pub. L. 117-263).

Section 5949 prohibits the Federal Government from procuring certain semiconductor parts, products, or services traceable to named Chinese companies and potentially other foreign countries of concern.  To that end, the ANPRM invites public comment on the proposed contents of an implementing FAR clause, to take effect December 23, 2027.

As discussed below, the FAR Council proposed applying the regulations broadly to all solicitations and contracts, including commercial item and commercially available off-the-shelf (“COTS”) contracts, subject only to a limited waiver.  Although not set out in the statute, the clause would require contractors to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into their supply chain to detect potential violations.  It would also require both disclosure and the taking of corrective action in the event that nonconforming products or services are discovered. 

More details are below, and our previous coverage of Section 5949 is available here.Continue Reading Chips on the Table: FAR Council Releases Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement Prohibition on Purchase and Use of Certain Semiconductors

On January 30, 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) proposed a new “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting” rule for government contractors.  The proposed rule intends to increase race and gender equity for employees of federal prime contractors and subcontractors by prohibiting them from requesting and relying on certain information about job applicants’ compensation history and requiring contractors to disclose compensation rates in job announcements for certain positions.  These requirements would apply to all prime contracts and subcontracts – including for commercial products and services – where the principal place of performance is within the United States, regardless of dollar amount or tier.  The proposed rule is the latest in a number of steps the Biden Administration has taken to address discriminatory pay practices in federal procurement and contracting since announcing an Executive Order on Advancing Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Federal Contracting by Promoting Pay Equity and Transparency in March 2022. 

The proposed rule’s potential impact and implications for contractors — as well as opportunities to submit comments on the issue — are discussed below.Continue Reading New Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting

On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed into law the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (“FY 2024 NDAA”).  Sections 1841 through 1843 of the new law address Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (“UAP”).

The version of the FY 2024 NDAA enacted in the Senate in July of this year incorporated the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023—which would have mandated the Federal Government’s exercise of eminent domain over UAP-related material controlled by private persons or entities.  As discussed in greater detail below, the eminent domain mandate was not included in the final version of the NDAA passed by both chambers of Congress.  The newly enacted law requires only the establishment of a government wide UAP records collection; that government offices transfer UAP records to the collection; and that records be reviewed for disclosure (or not) against a set of criteria under which public release could be “postponed.”  Nonetheless, the substance of these final UAP provisions and Congress’s renewed interest in UAP may be a harbinger of things to come for government contractors and research entities, especially those involved in defense, intelligence, and other national security projects.  We expand on the background, evolution, and national security implications of the UAP amendment—and its potential impacts on contractors and other private entities—below.Continue Reading Implications of the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Amendment in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

The requirement to pay “prevailing wages” to covered workers is a perennial aspect of many types of government contracting, including construction contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”) and certain related laws (collectively referred to as the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts or “DBRA”).  In recent years, Congress has also expanded the reach of prevailing wage requirements to new industries: clean energy projects seeking to take advantage of federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act are required to ensure that prevailing wages are paid or may be forced to forfeit valuable credits.  Semiconductor manufacturers — as well as manufacturers of materials and equipment used to make semiconductors — that seek to take advantage of the incentives established by the CHIPS Act are likewise required to follow the prevailing wage requirements of the DBA. 

It was in this context that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) introduced a 222-page final rule, “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations,” that substantially rewrote the implementing regulations under the DBRA.  Among other things, the final rule alters how DOL calculates the prevailing wage rates for each locality, and expands the definition of the “site of work” and categories of workers subject to the DBA.  Moreover, the final rule imposes the DBA by operation of law on federal construction contracts that would otherwise be covered, but that nevertheless do not include the requisite FAR clauses and wage determinations used to inform contractors of the DBA’s requirements.  The potential impact of these changes has not gone unnoticed:  last month, two trade associations — the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Texas, Inc. (“ABCSETX”) and the Associated General Contractors of America (“AGC”) — filed separate suits challenging multiple aspects of the final rule, including the changes to prevailing wage calculation methodology and the revised definition of the site of work.  We expand on the final rule’s changes — and on the pending legal challenges — below. Continue Reading Whose Site Is It Anyway: Trade Groups Challenge DOL’s Prevailing Wage Calculation and Expanded Definition of the Site of Work Under the Davis-Bacon Act