Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – October 2, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY Start Preparing Now for DoD’s Upcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), September 27, 2019, Jon Williams and Emily Rouleau For a while now, we have been writing about the increasing impact of cybersecurity on the government contracting world, which, as Jon wrote, has become the “ fourth pillar ” of Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions. The latest evidence of this was discussed by our colleague, Dave Shafer, in his recent blog discussing a . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 25, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . FALSE CLAIMS ACT Small Businesses and the False Claims Act (FCA): Are More FCA Cases Against Small Businesses on the Horizon? September 19, 2019, Timothy Valley On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a $20 million settlement with Luke Hillier (Hillier), the majority owner and former CEO of a Virginia-based defense contractor, ADS, Inc. (ADS), to resolve “allegations that he violated the FCA . . . Read More
BLOG: Small Businesses and the FCA: Are More FCA Cases Against Small Businesses on the Horizon?
On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had reached a $20 million settlement with Luke Hillier (Hillier), the majority owner and former CEO of a Virginia-based defense contractor, ADS, Inc. (ADS), to resolve “allegations that he violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by fraudulently obtaining federal set-aside contracts reserved for small businesses that his company was ineligible to receive . . . .” The resolution of the claims against Hillier follows ADS’s payment of a . . . 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 . . . 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 . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 4, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES Small Business Administration – SBA issued a rule extending the 504 Loan Program Rural Initiative Pilot Program (504 Rural Pilot) through September 30, 2021. The 504 Rural Pilot authorizes Certified Development Companies to make 504 loans for projects in rural counties located in their SBA Region. Read more here . Congressional Research Service – CRS has released a report examining the SBA’s veteran . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 26, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES GAO Defers to SBA on When Runway Extension Act Applies, August 20, 2019, Emily Rouleau Last year, Congress passed—and President Trump signed—the Small Business Runway Extension Act (the “Runway Extension Act” or the “Act”), which changed the time period for determining a company’s size based on average annual receipts from the previous three years to the previous five years. This summer, the . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 19, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES General Services Administration – According to Law360, GSA is seeking up to $20 billion worth of information technology services from disadvantaged small businesses and has asked for feedback before issuing a final solicitation. The Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS III) deal would be an indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity contract open to small businesses eligible for the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 12, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS LAW This Project Is Behind Schedule – What Is a Contractor to Do?, August 6, 2019, Michelle Litteken Construction projects rarely, if ever, go precisely as planned. One of the most common issues government contractors face is falling behind schedule. A schedule is developed, and then the contractor is confronted with differing site conditions, changes, or a litany of other causes of delay. The contract completion date that seemed easily achievable . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – July 23, 2019
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES CLIENT ALERT: SBA to Increase Size Standards with Inflationary Adjustment, July 17, 2019, Megan Connor On July 18, 2019, SBA issued an interim final rule increasing the receipts-based size standards for inflation. An unpublished version of the rule is available here . The change should be effective August 17, 2019, 30 days after the scheduled publication of the rulemaking. Comments to the rule are due . . . Read More