Earlier this month, SBA published its final rule adopting a revised size standards methodology. My colleagues, Jon Williams and Tim Valley, previously described the proposed changes to the methodology in a blog last year. The final methodology white paper adopts all the changes SBA proposed with minor revisions. SBA is moving from an “anchor” approach to a “percentile” approach. Under the anchor approach, SBA generally evaluated the characteristics of individual industries relative to the average characteristics of industries with an anchor size standard ($7.5 million and . . . Read More
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING As reported in a Government Executive article , President Trump announced in a tweet that he intended to nominate Jovita Carranza, currently the Treasurer of the United States, to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Ms. Carranza worked as a Senate-confirmed deputy administrator at SBA during the George W. Bush administration and previously had a 20-year career at the United Parcel Service, ending as president of Latin America and Caribbean operations. According to Bloomberg Law, the . . . Read More
The 2019 edition of Super Lawyers® recognizes 14 PilieroMazza lawyers as “Super Lawyers” or “Rising Stars” in their respective practice areas, which include Government Contracts , Labor & Employment , and Litigation . This year’s listing represents more than 60% of the firm’s attorneys, showcasing PilieroMazza’s commitment to client service and legal excellence. New to the list are Associates Jacqueline K. Unger and Timothy F. Valley. Please see the full list below. Super Lawyers Attorney Title Practice Office Pamela J. Mazza Managing Partner Government Contracts Washington, DC Antonio R. Franco Partner Government Contracts Washington, . . . Read More
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING As reported by Bloomberg Government, the Department of Health and Human Services is competing for a follow-on contract worth as much as $347 million to continue implementing the federal employee and contractor identification, authentication, and cybersecurity standards outlined in the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 ( HSPD-12 ). The scope of the contract—called the HSPD-12 Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) Systems Integration Support (SiS)—falls into two domains. Both domains aim to ensure that employees and contractors have credentials for . . . Read More
Corrective action is a common outcome of a bid protest. Indeed, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that 29% of the protests filed in FY 2018 resulted in corrective action. If you are a protester, that may be great news. In the case of a post-award protest, it likely means that you have another shot at award. However, if you are an intervenor, it means the agency chose not to defend your award, and you could lose the contract. . . . Read More
If you are thinking of forming a mentor-protégé joint venture to pursue a particular set-aside contract, it is critical that your timing has enough built-in cushion to ensure that all of the necessary approvals and entity-formation steps are accomplished before you submit your proposal. There is a fairly rigid sequencing of the steps involved in putting together the mentor-protégé application and subsequent joint venture agreement—make sure you do not fall into the trap of skipping a step, or otherwise you may put . . . Read More
Recently, there has been an advertisement running during March Madness from Apple that is all about privacy. If your household has been watching as much college basketball as mine has, then you’ve likely seen it. It’s a minute full of real-world examples of how people value their personal privacy. None of those examples are particularly significant but, in the aggregate, it shows that this remains an issue that people are deeply concerned about. That concern, of course, is then applied . . . Read More
As we have all been scrambling to get our taxes completed this month, a new IRS requirement may have been overlooked that goes into effect on May 13, 2019. This new requirement impacts the process by which any new entity (including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, and corporations) can apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), the 9-digit identification number assigned to entities for tax filing and reporting purposes. The new requirements will impact all of our clients . . . Read More
Most contractors know that they may submit a claim under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) if a problem arises during performance. However, many contractors are not aware that the government also has the ability to bring a claim. Likewise, contractors may not understand the options for responding to a government claim. Given the potential gravity of a government claim, these are issues contractors should be aware of. To begin, you may be wondering what types of claims the government may bring. . . . Read More
