SBA Issues New HUBZone Guidance and Map Updates

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has once again updated its HUBZone FAQs—this time with welcome changes for HUBZone firms with principal offices located in Redesignated Areas and / or Qualified Disaster Areas (QDA). The latest FAQs state that they were effective June 24, 2021, but we saw them for the first time on SBA’s website earlier this month. Below are our top five takeaways from the latest FAQs. While SBA’s FAQs continue to state that a firm located in a . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 19, 2021

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . PilieroMazza is gearing up for the 2021 National 8(a) Alaska Regional Conference. If you’re attending, check in with our attorneys Peter Ford , Nichole Atallah , Dave Shafer, and Meghan Leemon at exhibit booth seven. We also invite you to check out Peter and Dave’s presentation “Acquisitions & Mergers” on August 24, 2021. See you there! WEBINAR: Recent Trends in COVID Vaccine and Mask Mandates for Employers, August 20, 2021, Nichole Atallah and Sarah Nash . Read more here . . . . Read More

What President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Means for Government Contractors and Private Employers

Westlaw Today recently published an article by Nichole Atallah , Sarah Nash , and Sara Nasseri titled “What President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Means for Government Contractors and Private Employers.” The article covers President Biden’s July 29, 2021, announcement that all onsite federal employees and contractors are required to be vaccinated or face strict testing, social distancing, and masking requirements—diving into the new vaccine mandate’s implications for federal contractors and private employers. To access the full article, please visit this link .

What President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Means for Government Contractors and Private Employers

With the rise in COVID-19 cases across the country in the wake of the Delta variant, local, state, and federal officials have been taking steps to revise guidance, update recommendations, and revisit plans and protocols. In one such significant measure, President Biden announced yesterday that all onsite federal employees and contractors are now required to be vaccinated or face strict testing, social distancing, and masking requirements. Following similar measures from several states for state-employed personnel, the requirements certainly have implications . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 29, 2021

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . WEBINAR: Risk Prevention Strategies: The High Cost of Employee Misclassification—What Employers Should Know, August 4, 2021, Sarah Nash and Matthew Kreiser. Read more here . LABOR & EMPLOYMENT DOL Announces Proposed Rulemaking to Increase Wages for Workers on Government Contracts The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish standards and procedures to implement and enforce Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors,” (EO), which was signed by President Biden on . . . Read More

CIO-SP4 Amendment 7: Major Changes for Small Business and Large Business Prime / Subcontractor Teams

The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) just issued major changes to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Request for Proposals (RFP) under Amendment 7 to the RFP. These changes will impact both small and large business teams who intend to rely on subcontractors (i.e. FAR 9.601(2) Contractor Team Arrangement (CTA) members). For small business teams, Amendment 7 clarifies that only first-tier subcontractors can be used for purposes of meeting the requirements for . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 2, 2021

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . WEBINAR: Latest Developments with the HUBZone Program, July 21, 2021, Jon Williams . Read more here . WEBINAR: Risk Prevention Strategies: Legal Considerations in Crisis Management – Planning, Mitigation, and Recovery, July 28, 2021, Matt Feinberg and Megan Benevento. Read more here . LABOR & EMPLOYMENT DOL Announces Proposed Rulemaking to Protect Tipped Workers, Clarify Use of the Tip Credit The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to withdraw and re-propose one portion of the Tip Regulations . . . Read More

DOL/OSHA Implements COVID-Related Employee Safety Standards for Healthcare Employers

Building on President Biden’s Executive Order on Protective Worker Health and Safety issued on January 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard ( ETS ) aimed at workers in healthcare settings. Specifically, the ETS, issued on June 10, 2021, requires certain healthcare employers to take measures to protect their workers in settings where suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients are treated.  This includes employees in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – June 24, 2021

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . PilieroMazza Partner Jon Williams Testifies at Congressional Hearing on CMMC, June 24, 2021 PilieroMazza is pleased to announce that Jon Williams , a Partner on the Firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Team and Chair of the Government Contracts Group , testified at a hearing on June 24, 2021, at 10:00 AM ET before the Congressional Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations. The hearing—which focused on matters concerning Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)—was entitled “CMMC Implementation: . . . Read More

New CIO-SP4 Modification – An Undue Restriction on Competition and a Violation of SBA Regulations?

On June 22, 2021, the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) issued its third modification to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Request for Proposals (RFP). Among other things, NITAAC made significant changes to how subcontractors and mentors in Small Business Administration (SBA) approved mentor-protégé programs are treated for purposes of the evaluation. The RFP appears to disallow the use of any subcontractor experience, past performance, or other qualifications, including from small businesses, . . . Read More