House Bill Would Limit Credit for Small Businesses Falling into Multiple Socioeconomic Categories
A recent bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to amend the Small Business Act to limit the way agencies take credit for contracting with small businesses that fall into several socioeconomic categories. H.R. 2362, known as the Assuring Contracting Equity Act of 2017, was introduced on May 4, 2017 and would, if passed, add a provision titled “Limitation on Number of Categories for which a Small Business May Qualify.” This provision would prevent a Federal agency from . . . Read More
What’s that Cybersecurity FAR Clause Doing In My Contract?
Many contractors we talk to believe that cybersecurity requirements are exclusively a concern of contractors working with DoD or with highly-classified, top secret projects. While perhaps true to some degree in the past, that belief is now outdated. In recent years, the federal government has steadily expanded the reach of cybersecurity requirements imposed on contractors and contracts of all shapes and sizes, and that trend is expected to continue. As an example, one year ago this month the government implemented . . . Read More
DOT’s DBE Program Helps Promote Growth
The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) Program provides opportunities for small businesses, owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations, to participate on federally-assisted highway, transit, and aviation projects. In addition to setting a goal that at least 10% of such contracts go to certified DBEs, the DBE Program provides related opportunities to assist DBEs with business development. Large businesses and non-DBE eligible contractors seeking to do work on DOT-funded . . . Read More
New CVE Guidance on Joint Ventures and Mentor-Protégé Relationships
Earlier this month, the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (“CVE”) published a new VA Verification Assistance Brief, Understanding Joint Venture and Mentor-Protégé Agreement Eligibility (“Assistance Brief”). The Assistance Brief explains the criteria that make a joint venture (“JV”) eligible for verification and inclusion in the VA VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (“VIP”) database, which is helpful given that the VA’s regulations, specifically 38 C.F.R. Part 74, say very little in terms of how a JV can be verified by CVE . . . Read More
Navigating Your DBE Certification
The Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) Disadvantage Business Enterprise (“DBE”) program is not as well-known as the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) 8(a) and other small business programs, but it offers an excellent opportunity for eligible small businesses to expand their reach into state and local markets. The DOT requires that state and local agencies that receive DOT funding spend at least 10 percent of funds for certain projects on contracts with certified DBEs, which include woman- and minority-owned businesses. The DOT . . . Read More
The Firm Fixed Myth
In November of last year, I prepared a blog article about a specific clause that started appearing in firm-fixed-price contracts with various agencies which allowed them to reduce the price paid to the contractor based upon any absence, regardless of how short or the reason for the absence. Since that time, we have been assisting more and more clients in situations where the government is demanding discounts or refunds on firm-fixed-price contracts. Given this fact I believe it would be . . . Read More
GAO Finds NIH Failed to Refer SDVOSB Offeror’s Capability to SBA
In a recently published GAO decision , GAO sustained a SDVOSB’s protest of its exclusion from the competitive range by NIH under the CIO-SP3 SB GWAC procurement. The CIO-SP3 SB RFP required an evaluation of proposals in two phases. NIH evaluated offerors in Phase 1 under four “Go/No-Go” requirements, including factor 2, management approach, subfactor 1, domain-specific capability in a health-related mission. NIH found the protester’s proposal unacceptable under this factor/subfactor because the protester’s proposal was “not sufficient to demonstrate inherent capabilities . . . Read More
Earn-Outs in M&A Transactions: Red Flag Issues that Government Contractors Should Avoid
By Michael A. de Gennaro Government contractors who wish to grow by purchasing an existing business are aware of one simple truth: The value of the target is linked directly to its ability to transfer its existing contracts. If there is a high risk profile—for example, if assets of the target are subject to novation in connection with the acquisition—then a purchaser is likely to seek either a downward adjustment in the purchase price or to propose deferred compensation, such . . . Read More
Understanding Government Contract Terminations
It is important for prime contractors to understand what it means if its contract with the Federal Government is terminated and what rights and obligations it has. Nearly every Government contract contains a clause allowing the Government to terminate a contract either for convenience or for default (also known as for cause). The Government may terminate your contract, or a portion of your contract, for convenience when it is in the Government’s interest. Essentially, this means that the Government has made . . . Read More
Get a Handle on Changing Leave Laws
Picking up work across states can be challenging for any employer, particularly with respect to employment law, and it’s not getting any easier. Recently, a number of states and localities are proposing and passing sick and family leave laws, each with differences, making it challenging for employers to comply with and pay for the additional benefit. States are motivated by the federal government’s failure to address paid sick and family leave broadly at the federal level. As a result, states . . . Read More