We continue our discussion of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) recent final rule on various small business programs. We previously discussed SBA’s changes to the effect of recertifications under multiple award...more
On January 15, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council published a proposed rule overhauling the FAR’s Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) provisions. The proposed rule follows a December 2022 law that...more
1/23/2025
/ Bias ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contract Terms ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Donald Trump ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Government Agencies ,
Mitigation ,
Offerors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Subcontractors
On January 8, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council withdrew a proposed rule that would have banned federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking or...more
1/10/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NDAA ,
OFPP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has issued a final rule, effective January 17, 2025, to improve the consistency between the procurement and nonprocurement procedures for suspension and debarment. The changes,...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a final rule amending its regulation on lower-tier small business subcontracting credit to account for statutory changes introduced in the National Defense Authorization Act...more
Recent changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations affect how large businesses can take small business credit for subcontracting to their own mentor-protégé joint ventures (MPJVs). SBA’s final rule...more
Some of you may recall the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 from nearly a decade ago. It amended the Small Business Act (SBA) to allow a contractor, under certain circumstances, to receive...more
As most experts expected, Congress has passed the bill to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs until September 30, 2025. The bill is now headed for the White House, where the President is expected to sign it into law....more
In this month’s bid protest roundup, we consider: (1) an exception to the normal rule governing reliance on affiliate experience and past performance; and (2) two different bid protests of very similar solicitation terms that...more
9/13/2022
/ Bid Protests ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Joint Venture ,
Past Performance ,
Registration Requirement ,
Solicitation ,
Subcontractors ,
System For Award Management (SAM) ,
US State Departments
For evaluation purposes in a federal procurement, may an offeror rely upon the past performance and experience of its affiliates? The answer generally is a qualified yes, but the answer and the qualifications may change...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently promulgated a final rule addressing past performance ratings for small business joint venture members and small business first-tier subcontractors. The rule, which will go...more
Since our October 14, 2021 webinar, much has developed in the rapidly evolving compliance world of Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (“EO” or “EO 14042”). In case you...more
11/12/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
COFC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
GWACs ,
HUD ,
NASA ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Prime Contractor ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Service Contract Act ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
After a five-year wait, small business subcontracting rules that the Small Business Administration (SBA) promulgated in 2016 will finally appear in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and new solicitations. Chief among...more
Both houses of Congress now have voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Although the threat of a presidential veto still hangs over the NDAA, we highlight below a few of the...more
12/15/2020
/ Bid Protests ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financing ,
NDAA ,
Progress Payments ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Software ,
Subcontractors
As we recently discussed, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a long-awaited rule that made important changes to numerous small business contracting programs and the rules Federal agencies must follow...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) today issued a significant final rule addressing numerous issues of interest to Federal contractors. With one exception, the rule will take effect on November 16, 2020. We anticipate...more
Our monthly bid protest Law360 spotlight will discuss a handful of interesting bid protests from the preceding month, highlighting the most noteworthy aspects of the decisions for companies competing for contracts and...more
A few years back, a string of decisions at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the Court of Federal Claims invoked the Contract Disputes Act’s six-year statute of limitations to dispose of several long-pending...more