What are they?  They are companies (or individuals) that review and monitor a Federal Government Contractor’s compliance with laws, rules, regulations, and other contract requirements.  A Monitor is generally selected and paid by the Contractor it monitors, but must be approved by the Government in accordance with the Agreement between the Contractor and the Government. 

 

 

Do you want one?  Usually yes, because the alternative is to be placed on the Excluded Parties Listing (EPLS) and not be able to receive any future federal contract awards (including modifications).  The Federal Government has determined that it does not want to be the cause of a company’s demise over a federal compliance violation if the company is willing to make changes in its operations to remove the cause and furtherance of the violation. 

 

 

Do you want to be one?  A Compliance Monitor must perform within the parameters of the Agreement between the Government and the Contractor, but the actual work is determined by the Monitor.  This gives the Monitor a great deal of leeway in performing their responsibilities.  The Monitor typically has access to everyone and everything within the company it is monitoring.  This gives the Monitor contact with the “C” level personnel as well as the administrative personnel.  For those companies looking to expand their market, this would be great.  However, Monitors must remain independent of the company they monitor.  Click here to read the full article on www.watkinsmeegan.com.