Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – November 6, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW Bloomberg Quotes PM Partner Nichole Atallah: Trump Rescinds Obama Order Prioritizing Federal Contract Workers, November 4, 2019 On October 31, 2019, President Donald Trump rescinded an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama that put existing federal contract workers at the front of the line for jobs on the next contract. Executive Order 13495 . . . required qualified workers on a federal . . . Read More
BLOG: Small Talk: SBA Size Calculation for Government Contractors
With changes to size standards this year based on inflation estimated to enable 89,730 firms to gain small business status, annual size recertification requirements, and potentially severe penalties for misrepresentation of size, it is essential that government contractors calculate their size correctly and keep their System for Award Management profile up to date. This is often daunting, as size standards differ by industry and, depending on your industry and the procurement you are pursuing, you may have to calculate your . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – October 29, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. NATIVE AMERICAN LAW Emerging Issues in Native 8(a) Contracting The House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations held a hearing titled, “Native 8(a) Contracting: Emerging Issues.” Recognizing the positive impact that the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) program could have on tribal communities living in devastating poverty with little to no economic opportunity, Congress created the exceptions in the law for enterprises owned communally . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – October 17, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION The Supreme Court Clarifies Vague Arbitration Clauses Affecting Class Disputes for Growing Businesses, October 10, 2019, Patrick Burns For most small to medium-sized businesses, the threat of a class action is not usually front-of-mind. However, as a business grows, the threat can increase depending on the number of employees and the nature of the work being performed. Class actions are commonly thought of as . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 19, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. NATIVE AMERICAN LAW Key Ruling on Native American Sovereign Immunity Stands—for Now, September 13, 2019, Paul Mengel The Fourth Circuit case Williams v. Big Picture Loans is being hailed as a major victory for Native American sovereign immunity rights. For entities owned by Native American tribes, the case stands as an important ruling for determining arm-of-the-tribe sovereign immunity. The case may be appealed to the Supreme Court. [Read . . . Read More
BLOG: Protégé Subcontract Revenues from Mentor Hold No Basis for Economic Dependence
An important benefit of a mentor-protégé agreement (MPA) is that no determination of affiliation may be found between a protégé and its mentor solely because of assistance provided under the agreement. A recent decision of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), Avar Consulting, Inc.,[1] upheld a size determination which found that a protégé was not affiliated with its SBA-approved mentor through economic dependence, even though the revenues it received from the mentor constituted over 70% of the . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 10, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS LAW Late Is Late—Even on the GSA Schedule, September 9, 2019, Katie Flood In a recent blog, we discussed the “late is late” rule in government contracting which has been the cause of many protests and much consternation among government contractors. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) have consistently held that it is proper for an agency to reject . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 29, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. FALSE CLAIMS ACT / LITIGATION PODCAST: PilieroMazza’s GovCon Live! presents “Ex Rel. Radio,” our multi-part series on the False Claims Act, which will include commentary on potential pitfalls for your company, enforcement issues, and emerging trends. Please subscribe to one of our podcast accounts – Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, or Stitcher – to receive a notification when the first podcast in this series, “Cybersecurity, Implied Certifications, . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for April 16, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING As reported in a Government Executive article, President Trump announced in a tweet that he intended to nominate Jovita Carranza, currently the Treasurer of the United States, to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Ms. Carranza worked as a Senate-confirmed deputy administrator at SBA during the George W. Bush administration and previously had a 20-year career at the United Parcel Service, ending as president of Latin America and Caribbean operations. According to Bloomberg Law, the . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for April 19, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING As reported by Bloomberg Government, the Department of Health and Human Services is competing for a follow-on contract worth as much as $347 million to continue implementing the federal employee and contractor identification, authentication, and cybersecurity standards outlined in the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12). The scope of the contract—called the HSPD-12 Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) Systems Integration Support (SiS)—falls into two domains. Both domains aim to ensure that employees and contractors have credentials for access . . . Read More