Don’t Sit on Your Hands: Intervene at OHA If the NAICS Code Matters to You

By Michelle Litteken A recent decision from the Federal Circuit clarified whether the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) has jurisdiction to review the selection of North American Industry Classification System (“NAICS”) codes and reminded small business contractors of the need to exhaust administrative remedies—including intervening in protests at the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”)—before challenging a NAICS code designation in court. Palladian Partners, Inc. v. Unites States, No. 2014-5125 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 22, 2015), involved . . . Read More

Similar But Different: FAA Size Protest Challenges

Most small business contractors are familiar with the notion that the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has exclusive jurisdiction over all size protests. In fact, in the realm of government contracting, there is really no question as to which federal agency “wears the pants” when it comes to handling small business size issues.  Still, is the SBA really the only federal agency capable of making a formal size determination regarding a business concern? Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) . . . Read More

SBIC Investment: A Potential Source of Capital for Government Contractors

By Linh Phu, Access National Bank Owners of privately-held businesses generally finance their businesses with their own capital, augmented with bank loans. An additional source of funding for government contractors is available from Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs).  The Small Business Investment Company Program was established by Congress in 1958 to supplement the long term capital, both debt and equity, available to small businesses. The SBICs are privately owned and managed investment funds, but regulated and licensed by the U.S. . . . Read More

DOD Seeks to End the 25-Year “Pilot” Status of the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program

By Alex Levine The U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) recently announced its intent to request a 10-year extension of its mentor-protégé program. The move is a bid to add more permanence to a program, since its advent in 1991 has been labelled a pilot program that must be reauthorized in a National Defense Authorization Act every few years. The DoD hopes that the move will encourage participation amongst businesses, participation which the DoD asserts has been “chilled” due to the . . . Read More

Yet Another Recertification Rule

On December 29, 2014, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued a proposed rule to implement the subcontracting limitation requirements mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. Buried therein was a new proposed regulation with regard to recertification of size prior to a contract award. Under this new, proposed size recertification rule, firms that are bidding on small business set-aside contracts will need to recertify their size prior to an award if they engage in a merger and/or an . . . Read More

The “Rule of Two” For Orders Placed Against Multiple Award Contracts: The Other Shoe Has Dropped

As many of you may recall, Congress passed the Small Business Jobs Act (“Act”), in July 2010. The purpose of the Act was to ameliorate the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. Although the Act expanded opportunities for small business there were, nonetheless, some provisions which, in fact, made doing business with the Government somewhat more difficult for small business contractors. In particular, Section 1331 of the Act mandated the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) and . . . Read More

PilieroMazza Legal Advisor – First Quarter 2015

In this issue: SBA Proposes Important New Small Business Contracting Rules When Snow Days Impact Government Contracts: Balancing Inclement Weather and the FSLA Planning Ahead to Get it Right for Your Business SBIC Investment, a Potential Source of Capital for Government Contractors

In a Business Owners Agreement, Should All Owners Be Equal?

Good business planning involves owners of the company developing and entering into a shareholders agreement, operating agreement or partnership agreement (owners agreement). A good owners agreement will allow the owners to plan and prepare upfront for disruptive events in the company’s business life cycle, whether good or bad. And, as part of putting together an owners’ agreement, one of the fundamental questions owners need to resolve is whether all owners should have equal rights. The answer is it depends—in some . . . Read More

DOT’s New DBE Utilization Rules

The Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) regulations went into effect on November 3. These new rules will have a significant impact on the highway construction industry, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. Because so many small disadvantaged businesses also participate in the DBE program, it is important that they stay abreast of these new regulations. The DOT considered the revisions to be a minor adjustment to the old rules, but they actually have a . . . Read More