I spoke at the TRI-Association Small Business Advisory Panel (TRIAD) Winter Meeting a couple weeks ago in Nashville, and a number of attendees asked me questions about how often a large prime contractor must require its small business subcontractors to recertify size/status during the term of a subcontract. SBA’s regulations and the FAR indicate that a subcontractor’s status for a particular subcontract is established at the time the subcontractor submits its offer for the subcontract, and a prime contractor may . . . Read More
Jon Williams, partner in our Government Contracts and Small Business practice groups, will be the featured speaker at the SYNNEX Corporation’s Diversity Partner event in Charleston, SC on February 27, 2019. He will be providing an update on the Federal Small Business Programs discussing recent legislative and regulatory changes impacting government contractors.
Introducing PilieroMazza’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice Managing Cyber Risks in M&A Transactions Hackers Are No Match for Employee Missteps When Hackers Attack: Disclosure Obligations and Litigation Risks When You Suffer a Data Breach Data Breaches and Date Rights: How the Rights of You and Your Customers Are Impacted
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest filed by Ekagra Partners, LLC challenging the terms of a request for proposal (RFP) issued by the General Services Administration (GSA). In its protest, Ekagra Partners argued the solicitation for the OASIS Small Business on-ramp, which included terms that improperly restricted competition by limiting the ways in which a small business joint venture could form teams to submit a proposal. The GAO found that the solicitation’s limitation on the ability of . . . Read More
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The General Services Administration (GSA) implemented a new process in SAM that allows non-federal entity registrants to submit common federal government-wide Representations and Certifications for financial assistance. The procurement Representations and Certifications have not changed. Non-federal entities creating new SAM registrations and existing non-federal entities completing their annual SAM registration renewals will be required to review and certify their financial assistance Certifications and Representations before their registration can be activated. Registration in SAM is required prior to receipt of . . . Read More
While there has been extensive coverage of the fact that Truth in Negotiations Act (“TINA”) thresholds for DoD were increased from $750,000 to $2M and certain civilian agencies have adopted the thresholds either via a FAR deviation or on an ad hoc basis, we have seen an increase in clients falling into insidious TINA traps—task orders on competitively awarded IDIQ contracts that require new labor categories or requirements not contemplated under the initial RFP. Specifically, we have seen instances where the agency . . . Read More
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a series of workshops geared to help Native American small business communities with technical assistance and business development. The SBA will participate in the workshops by providing information and access to products and services that are available. The workshops will focus on increased financial literacy and outreach initiatives to enhance the use of the SBA’s financing programs, counseling, and business development services. The SBA and other federal agencies, such as the U.S. . . . Read More
February 11-13, 2019 Nashville, TN Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center Visit PilieroMazza at the TRIAD and 8(a) Association’s Annual Small Business Conferences next week. In the Exhibit Hall at Booth 503 TRIAD Breakout Session – Small Business Fables Monday at 3:00 with Megan Connor 8(a) Breakout Session – Strategies for Growth: Acquiring a Small Business with Federal Contract Assets Wednesday at 1:45 with Cy Alba
The language you choose to put in your subcontract matters, even if you do not understand it or applying that language might end in an unfair result. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals drove this point home recently in Aspic Engineering and Construction Company v. ECC Centcom Constructors, LLC. In Aspic, a contractor, ECC, was awarded two prime contracts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of various buildings in Afghanistan. Aspic, an Afghani company alleged to be unfamiliar . . . Read More
On February 4, 2019, PilieroMazza submitted comments on RIN 3245-AG86, Proposed Rule National Defense Authorization Acts of 2016 and 2017, Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015, and Other Small Business Government Contracting. SBA has already issued a thorough body of regulations dealing with the limitations on subcontracting, and SBA has the authority under the Small Business Act to mandate the level of performance by prime contractors on small business set-aside contracts. Therefore, SBA’s regulations represent the . . . Read More
