Do I Need to Recertify My Company’s Size for this Task Order?
In the small business government contracting world, one of biggest advantages to winning a GWAC, like Alliant, CIO-SP3, OASIS or SEWP, is that you will be considered a small business for the contract and any orders awarded to you, despite your natural growth. This is because the general rule is that a contractor’s size for purposes of a multiple award contract is established at the date of proposal with price. Effectively, a contractor is locked in as a small business . . . Read More
H&W is Increasing and Includes Offsets for Mandated Sick Leave. What Now?
Effective August 1, 2017, the Service Contract Act (“SCA”) health and welfare (“H&W”) benefit amount increased from $4.27 per hour to $4.41 per hour. See, Department of Labor (“DOL”) All Agency Memorandum Number 225, issued on July 25, 2017. A different H&W rate of $4.13 per hour is now applicable to employees performing work on contracts covered by Executive Order 13706 (“EO”). This EO mandated that certain federal contractors provide up to 56 hours of sick leave to employees. The . . . Read More
The Importance of a Carefully Drafted Work Share Provision
Subcontracts contain a number of important provisions that shape the relationship between a prime and its subcontractor. However, there is one that overshadows the rest in terms of its significance to the parties’ agreement: work share. The work share provision dictates the amount and types of work the subcontractor will perform. In addition, it is through the work share provision that the parties decide how best to divide the work between themselves to achieve the agency’s objective. Given its importance . . . Read More
2018 NDAA Could Raise the Stakes for Companies Filing Bid Protests on DoD Contracts
The U.S. Senate has proposed a provision in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that, if adopted, would raise the stakes for larger firms in filing bid protests. The provision would apply to protests against DoD procurements to the GAO. If GAO denies all elements of such protests, the protesting company would be required to pay to DoD the costs the government incurs for processing the protest at the GAO and DoD. It is unclear how the government would track . . . Read More
Do the Proposed Changes to SBA’s HUBZone Program Go Far Enough?
H.R. 3294, the HUBZone Unification and Business Stability Act of 2017, proposes several changes to the HUBZone program that are intended to reduce certification timelines, stabilize the program, and collect and report on performance metrics designed to measure the success of the HUBZone program. While this is a step in the right direction, the proposed changes do not go far enough to provide a meaningful impact to the deficiencies in the program. To analyze the positive impact the proposed bill . . . Read More
House Bill Would Reduce Use of LPTA in All Agencies’ Procurement
A recent bill before the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to limit the use of the lowest price technically available (“LPTA”) source selection process in procurements. H.R. 3019, which was introduced on June 22, 2017, would create a policy to avoid using LPTA criteria in circumstances that would deny the Government the benefits of cost and technical tradeoffs in the source selection process. The LPTA process dictates that when conducting a competitive procurement, the agency will select the offeror that . . . Read More
Licensing Third Party Software for Use in Federal Contracts
In the IT sector, it is common for contractors with relationships to various federal agencies to have top-tier talent in-house to provide high quality IT services. Some vendors even have programmers and software engineers in-house to directly develop commercial and non-commercial software products for its clients. However, there are many times when, among other things, (1) the government needs a particular type of solution; (2) the contractor believes that some third-party software would suit the government’s needs best; or (3) . . . Read More
Be Prepared – Be Proactive About Defending Size Protests
Imagine that after months of diligently working on a proposal for a set-aside contract, you learn that your company has been identified as the apparent successful offeror. Then, a few days later, you receive an email from the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) notifying you that another offeror has filed a size protest. The SBA’s email cites multiple regulations and instructs you to respond to the protest allegations. The SBA also directs you to complete a lengthy form called the SBA . . . Read More
Borrowing Under the SBA’s 7(a) Lending Program: Three Factors to Bear in Mind
As an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you know that access to capital is a crucial component in both the setting up and growing of your business. Capital is necessary at every stage, for example, enabling your business to order goods before you expect to be paid, paying for accumulating overhead costs, investing in client development and marketing, etc. — having access to capital is the lifeline for your business. However, entrepreneurs and small business owners often find that it . . . Read More
A Quick Guide to Phantom Stock and Stock Appreciation Rights
In the government contracting world, companies are often reluctant to create true equity incentive plans, such as options and restricted stock units. Small businesses have valid reasons for hesitating to offer equity to new individuals, such as a lack of familiarity with the person, an interest in retaining as much ownership as possible in the event that an equity transaction is necessary in the future, and the SBA’s rules on ownership, control, and affiliation, including the so-called “Present Effect Rule.” . . . Read More