Effective October 1, 2018: A Universal Set of Ownership and Control Requirements for VOSBs and SDVOSBs

Just one week before taking effect, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a  final rule  on verification guidelines for veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, found in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA 2017). The final rule implements the NDAA 2017, which placed the responsibility for issuing regulations relating to ownership and control for the VA’s verification of VOSBs and SDVOSBs with SBA. As relevant background, the current VA and SBA regulations regarding ownership and control of . . . Read More

New Receipts Calculation for Federal Contractors?

Congress is considering changing the receipts calculation for small businesses. Currently, a company’s size is determined based on the average annual receipts of the three recently completed fiscal years. However, in the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018,  H.R. 6330 , which the House passed on September 25, 2018, the House of Representatives proposes amending the Small Business Act to change this time period to five years. In a  Report  dated September 12, 2018, the House Small Business Committee (“HSBC”) observed that . . . Read More

GAO Rebukes Agency for Finding Proposal Nonresponsive Based on Buy American Act Submission

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently sustained a bid protest in which the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) found a construction contractor’s bid to be nonresponsive due to the contractor’s failure to provide all information required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 52.225-9 and 52.225-10. When these FAR provisions are included in a solicitation, they set out a preference that a contractor use domestic products and materials in its construction project. If a contractor wishes to use foreign materials instead . . . Read More

Taking Advantage of State and Local Small Business Certifications

Many federal government contractors are familiar with certain federal certifications, such as small business, woman-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, and the like, and the contract set-aside benefits that are associated with such socioeconomic designations. While some of these federal certifications may flow down to state and local procurements, many government contractors may also qualify for state and local certifications, which can generate more revenue outside of the ever-competitive federal government contracting marketplace. Similarly to the federal government, many . . . Read More

NLRB Proposes Rule to Limit Joint Employer Test: Small Businesses Beware

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has taken this proverb to heart when it comes to implementing a new test for what it means to be a “joint employer” under the National Labor Relations Act. Following a failed attempt to change the standard through case law, the NLRB is now attempting to revise it by issuing a proposed rule. Last December, the NLRB endeavored to reverse Obama-era NLRB precedent, which held . . . Read More

How a CTA Can Help You Qualify for Government Contracts

You may have heard of Contractor Team Arrangements (“CTA”) that can be used to pursue General Services Administration (“GSA”) Schedule contract opportunities, but do you know how a CTA can maximize your ability to qualify for government contracts? CTAs are distinct from traditional prime contractor-subcontractor relationships and joint ventures, and they provide different methods for making your company a more attractive offeror. A CTA allows two or more GSA Schedule contractors to team together for GSA Schedule opportunities, and all . . . Read More

How New Minimum Wage and Service Contract Act Health and Welfare Rates Apply to Your Contract

As we head into a busy proposal and award season, keep in mind some important changes to Service Contract Act (“SCA”) wages and fringe benefits. In July, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued revised SCA health and welfare (“H&W”) benefit amounts, increasing the base rate from $4.41 per hour to $4.48 per hour. An H&W rate of $4.18 per hour is now applicable to employees performing work on contracts that include FAR 52.222-62, Sick Leave for Contractors. This rate takes . . . Read More

The 2019 NDAA Streamlines, Reorganizes, and Redefines

Title VIII—Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters  of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (“2019 NDAA”) includes a number of changes to the Department of Defense (“DoD”) acquisition statutes and the definition of commercial items. These changes appear to be in direct response to the recommendations from the Section 809 Panel (the “Panel”) reports from January and June of 2018. In its reports, the Panel noted the sometimes cumbersome and unnecessary complexity of the DoD acquisition system and the confusion surrounding the definition of . . . Read More

The 2019 NDAA’s Impact on Small Business Procurement

On August 13, 2018, the  John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2019  was signed into law by President Trump. As with prior NDAAs, the 2019 NDAA includes a number of provisions that affect procurement policy, management, and related matters. Below, we summarize some of the more notable provisions that will impact small business procurement. Section 822—Establishment of Expedited Process for Small Value Contracts Among other things, Section 822 of the 2019 NDAA requires the Secretary of Defense (“Secretary”), by no later than December 1, 2019, to develop . . . Read More

2019 NDAA Raises Micro-purchase Threshold for DoD

The  2019 NDAA  brought a welcome surprise for many defense contractors—the DoD plans to increase its micro-purchase threshold from $5,000 to $10,000, which matches the increase given to civilian agencies in last year’s NDAA. Earlier this year, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) issued a class deviation to the FAR to implement the revised simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) and micro-purchase threshold that were included in the 2018 NDAA before the FAR was revised. These deviations increased the SAT to $250,000 and the . . . Read More