Holiday Office Party Etiquette: Don’t Dance on the Table

Everyone loves a good holiday party. It is a time to unwind with co-workers and show appreciation for another year of hard work. But if you are the boss, you may have heard about or been a part of a holiday party gone awry and are terrified of the possible legal ramifications. The first issue that usually comes to mind is alcohol and driving. And while you should be concerned about whether your state has a “social host” law that . . . Read More

DOT’s New DBE Utilization Rules

The Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) regulations went into effect on November 3. These new rules will have a significant impact on the highway construction industry, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Because so many small disadvantaged businesses also participate in the DBE program, it is important that they stay abreast of these new regulations. The DOT considered the revisions to be a minor adjustment to the old rules, but they actually have a . . . Read More

SAM’s New Ownership Disclosure Requirements

The System for Award Management (“SAM”) administrator recently issued a new requirement for identification of your entity’s ownership in order to maintain an active registration in SAM. The notice, which was issued Nov. 1, informs small business owners of new ownership questions that are now required to be answered in order to keep their SAM registration active.  The notice is included below: Effective November 1, 2014, a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 4.18 – Commercial and Government Entity Code (CAGE) requires you to . . . Read More

Finally! Sole Source Authority for the WOSB Program

By Megan Connor On December 2, 2014, the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee released the text of an agreement they have reached on the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2015 (“NDAA”). Section 825 of the FY 2015 NDAA creates, for the first time, sole source authority for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. This legislation will bring parity to the WOSB Program which, until now, was the only small business procurement program without sole source authority. WOSBs will not see the impact immediately. . . . Read More

Court Ruling Confirms that SDVOSB Contractors Possess Procedural Due Process Rights Against Adverse Eligibility Determinations

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affair’s (“VA”) Center for Veterans Enterprise (“CVE”) has a tough and sometimes thankless job. Its role is to serve as a “gatekeeper” for VA contracting programs for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (“SDVOSB”), so that purported SDVOSBs which are, in fact, no such thing or are otherwise ineligible, do not receive benefits under these programs. Even so, it is no secret that legitimate and eligible SDVOSBs have sometimes had unexpected and significant difficulties with CVE in . . . Read More