HUBZone Principal Office Flexibility Ends April 1
The Small Business Administration’s HUBZone office will soon end the principal office flexibility it introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting April 1, 2022, firms will no longer be able to count employees who spend most of their time working at home as a principal office employee. HUBZone firms need to be mindful of this as they prepare for their 2022 recertification and manage their HUBZone eligibility going forward. Below, we review the changes announced by SBA and offer our recommendations for dealing . . . Read More
GSA Releases Polaris Q&A Indicating Key Changes in Upcoming RFPs
GSA recently released a Q&A in anticipation of the first two Polaris Requests for Proposals (RFPs). GSA anticipates the RFPs for Small Businesses and Women-Owned Small Businesses will be released soon, while those for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones Small Business (HUBZone) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) pools will be released between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Some of the answers in the Q&A clarify what offerors should expect, while others continue to create ambiguity. In this client alert, . . . Read More
Government Contractors to Register for Affirmative Action Program Compliance Certification Beginning February 1, 2022
In December 2021, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) launched its Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface through a new online portal (Portal). Beginning on February 1, 2022, registration opens on the Portal, and covered prime and subcontractors are required to certify compliance of their Affirmative Action Program (AAP) by no later than June 30, 2022. Covered contractors are then required to annually certify. The Portal also provides a secure platform for scheduled contractors to submit their AAP to . . . Read More
2022 NDAA Makes Significant Changes to Federal Procurement Policy
On December 27, 2021, President Biden signed the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, authorizing more than $700 billion in defense spending. The NDAA also contains several provisions that shape federal procurement policies and forecast areas that Congress believes warrant attention in the future. PilieroMazza examines three themes in this year’s NDAA that contractors should know to take advantage of contract opportunities and maintain compliance requirements. 1. Continued Support for Domestic Preferences and Supply Chain Security Congress sent a clear signal that it supports . . . Read More
DOD Releases CMMC 2.0 Framework Documentation
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense (DOD) released the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 framework, along with the self-assessment guides for the new Levels 1 and 2, scoping guidance for all Levels, and other helpful tools for contractors seeking to perform self-assessments. Each of these documents is available on DOD’s CMMC website under the Documentation tab. Here are key highlights from DOD’s CMMC 2.0 Documentation for small and mid-sized defense contractors. These documents signal some major departures . . . Read More
NITAAC Makes Major Changes to CIO-SP4 RFP
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) issued yet another round of significant changes to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Request for Proposals (RFP) under Amendment 12 to the RFP. These changes, explained below, will impact offerors in mentor-protégé arrangements and may require them to submit a proposal revision. Mentors: Experience Examples Mentors in mentor-protégé arrangements, regardless of their size, may now only submit two experience examples for each task area. Prior . . . Read More
Court Enjoins Vaccine Mandate Nationwide: The Practical Implications for Federal Contractors
On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (District Court) issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing Executive Order (EO) 14042, which includes the vaccine mandate for federal contractors, during the pendency of legal proceedings. The District Court’s order, available here , follows a decision last week enjoining enforcement of EO 14042 in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. PilieroMazza ’s Labor & Employment Group addresses what government contractors should know in light of the District Court’s . . . Read More
OMB Releases Guidance to Advance Equity for Underserved Small Businesses in Federal Procurement
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released guidance on December 2, 2021, implementing Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government” (EO). The EO directs agencies to readily make available federal contracting opportunities to all eligible vendors and to remove barriers preventing underserved individuals and communities from entering into procurement opportunities. Additionally, President Biden has set a goal to increase the share of contracts awarded to small, disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) to 15% . . . Read More
Government Shutdowns for Federal Contractors: Mitigating Damages and Managing Your Workforce
Once again, the specter of a government shutdown looms over the federal contracting community. The House just passed a continuing resolution that would extend federal funding through February 18, 2022, and avoid a government shutdown on December 3, 2021. However, it is unclear whether it will be passed by the Senate due to objections over federal vaccine and testing mandate funding. As a result, there is a possibility that the continuing resolution will not pass the Senate by the December . . . Read More
SBA Proposes to Change Two Key Size Standard Calculations
The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued a proposed rule that would change two size standard calculations. First, SBA is proposing to use a 24-month period, as opposed to the current 12-month period, for calculating employees under employee-based size standards. Second, the proposed rule would allow companies in SBA loan programs to utilize a 5-year average or a 3-year average when calculating average annual receipts (AAR). Comments on these proposals are due by December 2, 2021. Below are key details regarding SBA’s . . . Read More