Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses– April 20, 2022
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . Upcoming Events: Register to attend PilieroMazza’s upcoming events here . Recent Thought Leadership: Check out PilieroMazza’s recent client alerts and blogs here . GovCon Live! Podcast: Listen to PilieroMazza’s latest episodes and follow us to hear more here . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS ESOPs Have Opportunity to Shape DOD Pilot Program on Sole Source Follow-On Contracts, April 12, 2022, Kevin Barnett In late 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022 NDAA) included a first-of-its-kind provision that authorized . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses– April 13, 2022
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . Upcoming Events: Register to attend PilieroMazza’s upcoming events here . Recent Thought Leadership: Check out PilieroMazza’s recent client alerts and blogs here . GovCon Live! Podcast: Listen to PilieroMazza’s latest episodes and follow us to hear more here . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SBA Increases Its Size Standards, Opening More Opportunities for Winning Government Contracts , April 4, 2022, Peter Ford , Patrick Rothwell The long-awaited increase to size standards by the Small Business Administration (SBA) has arrived. On March 31, 2022, SBA issued four final rules that increase the . . . Read More
Buy American Act Final Rule Strengthens Domestic Sourcing Requirements
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) published a final rule on March 7 that bolsters domestic sourcing requirements in federal procurement under the Buy American Act (BAA). This rule makes several significant changes to limit government contractors’ reliance on foreign products and component parts. Even though the final rule does not take effect until October 25, 2022, government contractors should be preparing for it now. PilieroMazza will discuss the new rule in a webinar on the BAA on April 27. Soon after . . . Read More
ESOPs Have Opportunity to Shape DOD Pilot Program on Sole Source Follow-On Contracts
In late 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022 NDAA) included a first-of-its-kind provision that authorized a pilot program through which businesses that are owned 100% by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) could qualify for sole source awards on a follow-on contract. Of course, the devil is in the details, and this potentially historic provision merely authorized the program but included no details. The opportunity to fill in those details has arrived. The Department of Defense (DOD) recently announced that companies can . . . Read More
GSA Pauses Polaris RFPs
GSA’s Polaris RFPs are on pause after the agency received comments regarding the evaluation of joint ventures. GSA is now assessing whether changes are required to the RFPs and is temporarily pausing the RFPs until further notice. WOSBs, SDVOSBs, and HUBZone IT service providers should pause proposal activities until the assessment is completed. This assessment may be an indication that GSA is carefully considering aspects of Polaris RFPs that will hopefully be beneficial to both large and small contractors and improve . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Represents Federal Compass in Venture Capital Transaction
PilieroMazza is pleased to announce that the Firm’s Business & Transactions Group , led by attorneys Dave Shafer and Frank Massaro, served as legal counsel to Federal Compass as it secured a Series A venture financing round from Blueprint Equity . Federal Compass is a Vienna, VA, company that provides software for federal contractors. Blueprint Equity, based in Solana Beach, CA, is an investment firm that supplies expansion capital to enterprise software and technology startups. Federal Compass was founded in 2019. It plans to use the proceeds from this . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – April 6, 2022
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . Upcoming Events: Register to attend PilieroMazza’s upcoming events here . Recent Thought Leadership: Check out PilieroMazza’s recent client alerts and blogs here . GovCon Live! Podcast: Listen to PilieroMazza’s latest episodes and follow us to hear more here . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS OHA Confirms M&A-Related Recertification Won’t Impact Contractors’ Eligibility Under Pre-Existing Contracts , April 1, 2022, Samuel S. Finnerty For small businesses, navigating the recertification rules promulgated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) is no easy task. SBA rules generally provide that the size of . . . Read More
SBA Increases Its Size Standards, Opening More Opportunities for Winning Government Contracts
The long-awaited increase to size standards by the Small Business Administration (SBA) has arrived. On March 31, 2022, SBA issued four final rules that increase the small business size standards for a number of industries. As a result, many businesses will gain eligibility for federal small business assistance programs or retain eligibility for a longer period. These programs include SBA’s business loan programs, Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and federal procurement programs that provide targeted, set-aside opportunities for small . . . Read More
COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Laws Could Show Emerging Compliance Trends for Employers
Since the onset of the pandemic, many states and localities have passed COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave laws requiring employers to provide leave to employees for COVID-19-related reasons. California and Colorado have gone beyond many other states by adding to the required amount of sick time. These laws present unique administrative compliance challenges and financial burdens on employers who must prepare for employees’ additional paid COVID-19-related absences. Even employers with no employees in California and Colorado should be mindful, however, . . . Read More
Federal News Network Quotes PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba about Small Businesses’ Chances of Winning Polaris Contracts
PilieroMazza ’s Cy Alba , a partner in the Government Contracts Group , discussed the Polaris government-wide acquisition contract with Federal News Network recently. His remarks came after the General Services Administration (GSA), which issued the solicitation, clarified that it would allow joint ventures to rely on the past performance and experience of a single member, including large business SBA-approved mentors, when evaluating the entire joint venture for award. This clarification to the solicitation gave some small businesses, especially those with little direct experience in the core . . . Read More