The New Rules: Changes That Every Small Business Contractor Needs to Know
Pam Mazza and Cy Alba presented a workshop at VETS2014, the Veterans Entrepreneur Training Symposium in Reno, Nevada.
Inflation Adjustments Coming to Small Business Size Standards
On June 12, 2014, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an interim rule, which goes into effect on July 14. This new rule increases the size standards applicable to nearly every NAICS code used in Federal Contracting (some were not adjusted, especially cases where the size is set by statue). This was the first time that the SBA adjusted any of the size standards to account for inflation since 2008. Given that many sectors of the economy are starting to . . . Read More
Small Business Investors Have Rights, Too – Megan Connor, Set-Aside Alert
WOSB and EDWOSB Programs: Getting Certified and Staying Compliant
Pam Mazza was a presenter at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 13th Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.
FAR Amended to Clarify Contractor Responsibilities Pursuant to the Defense Base Act
By Nichole DeVries The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and NASA issued a final rule on May 30, 2014, which amended the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify contractor and subcontractor responsibilities to obtain workers’ compensation coverage, or to qualify as a self-insurer under the terms of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), as extended by the Defense Base Act (DBA). The most significant change to the FAR impacts the employer’s responsibility for carrying out DBA . . . Read More
Considering the GSA Schedule? What You Need to Know
Presenters: Cy Alba with Courtney Fairchild, President and CEO of Global Services Click here for the webinar recording
Securing Corrective Action May Raise Further Challenges
By Alex Levine According to the latest statistics available from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), roughly half of all bid protests filed at the GAO are dismissed within 30 days of filing. Of these, the majority of dismissals occur because the procuring agency takes corrective action in response to the protest. Corrective action often involves the agency agreeing to perform a reevaluation or make a new award determination. Corrective action can be an important early victory; it may provide . . . Read More
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Institute a Moratorium
By Nichole DeVries On May 7, 2014, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued Directive 2014-01, instituting a five-year moratorium on the OFCCP enforcement over TRICARE subcontractors. The moratorium applies to health care entities that participate in TRICARE as subcontractors under a prime contract between the Department of Defense (DOD) TRICARE Management Activity and one of the prime contractors providing managed-care contractors. Why would OFCCP stop auditing TRICARE subcontractors? According to OFCCP, there is a “difference in understanding” . . . Read More
Victory in House of Representatives for Improvements to WOSB Federal Contract Program
By Barbara Kasoff, President of WIPP Dear WIPP Members & Friends: It is with great pleasure I write today, celebrating an enormous victory for women business owners. As many of you already know, earlier today the House of Representatives passed their annual defense bill, which included two changes that strengthen the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) procurement program. First, the bill allows sole-source contracts to be awarded through the program. Currently, contracting officers are unable to award sole-source contracts through the . . . Read More
HUBZone Map Changes – New Information Released for Over 100 Non-Metropolitan Counties
By Katie Flood Good news for many HUBZone (or HUBZone-interested) firms: The SBA has just announced that 104 non-metropolitan counties have been designated as newly qualified HUBZones or have had their redesignation periods extended, based on 2013 unemployment data recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the SBA has provided the new information on the counties in the form of PDF and Excel documents, the HUBZone maps have not yet been updated. However, simply because the map has not been updated would . . . Read More