Possible Trouble for Contractors Who Use Consultants to Prepare Proposals
A recent GAO decision highlights the importance of understanding the extent to which the government’s request for proposals (RFP) allows for the use of consultants in assisting with proposal preparation. In Matter of Advanced Communication Cabling, Inc., B-410898.2 (2015), GAO denied a protest that challenged an RFP prohibition on the use of consultants to assist with proposal preparation as being unduly restrictive of competition. The RFP, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November 2014, anticipated the award of up to 20 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity . . . Read More
Avoiding Litigation Series #3: Protecting Your Prime and Subcontract or Strategic Relationship
Presenters: Pam Mazza and Paul Mengel
Consequences for Large Primes Not Hitting Subcontracting Plan Goals
By Katie Flood The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently ruled that the Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”) properly excluded a large business prime contractor’s proposal from the competitive range based in part on the contractor’s consistent failure to meet its small business subcontracting goals on previous contracts. In Graybar, B-410886 (Mar. 4, 2015), the large business prime contractor, Graybar, protested DLA’s exclusion of Graybar’s proposal from the competitive range. Specifically, Graybar challenged DLA’s assignment of deficiencies under the past performance factor, for . . . Read More
When A Protest Isn’t A Protest
In her familiar soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, while longingly looking out of her window, Juliet said of her new-found love, Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” Perhaps in a similar vein, Gertrude Stein cryptically wrote “a rose is a rose is a rose.” Law, however, operates with a very different logic. A recent decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal . . . Read More
Supreme Court Ruling Increases Potential Liability for Employers Failing to Accommodate Pregnant Employees
By Corey Argust On March 25, 2015, the Supreme Court reinstated a pregnancy discrimination suit that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had previously decided in favor of the employer. The decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 575 U.S. ____ (2015), opens the door to potential liability for employers with disability accommodation policies that formerly appeared to be nondiscriminatory. Peggy Young, the plaintiff in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. was a former, part-time . . . Read More
CVE Reverfication for Veteran-Owned Firms is not as Simple as Advertised – Peter Ford, Set-Aside Alert
Comments on Proposed Rule Small Business Government Contracting and NDAA of 2013 Amendments, RIN: 3245-AG58
Includes: Limitations on Subcontracting Identity of Interest Affiliation Joint Ventures Size Recertification NAICS Code Appeals Size Protests Nonmanufacturer Rule
PilieroMazza submits final comments to SBA
PilieroMazza submitted comments regarding the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) proposed rule of December 29, 2014, regarding the implementation of a statutory mandate for the performance requirements applicable to small business and socioeconomic program set aside contracts and small business subcontracting. The Proposed Rule is designed to implement section 1651 of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) of 2013, which changes the limitations on subcontracting for full or partial small business and socio-economic program set-aside contracts and small business subcontracting. Additionally, . . . Read More
Webinar on SBA’s Proposed Rules: Changes to the Mentor-Protege Programs and Limitations on Subcontracting
Presenters: Pam Mazza and Jon Williams
SBA’s Proposed Rules: Changes to the Mentor-Protege Programs and Limitations on Subcontracting
Featuring Guest Speaker: John Klein Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law for the U.S. Small Business Administration With Pam Mazza and Jon Williams A Joint Seminar Sponsored by: