Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses– May 6, 2022

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GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

SBA Requests Comments on Potential Change in Size Standard for Resellers, April 28, 2022, Jon Williams
On April 26, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule regarding its small business size standards for federal contractors in manufacturing and other industries with employee-based size standards. Small business federal contractors should take note of the proposed changes and consider whether to address this proposal by submitting a public comment by the June 27 deadline. Read more here.

GSA Will Expand Joint Ventures’ Eligibility to Secure GSA Schedule Contracts Beyond Information Technology, April 25, 2022, Cy Alba
By the end of May, the General Services Administration (GSA) will issue a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) modification that will open all special item numbers to the GSA Springboard program. As a result, joint ventures will be able to secure all Special Item Numbers (SINs) under the consolidated MAS contracts, not just under IT SINs. With this good news in mind, contractors should consider whether to use their joint ventures to apply for MAS contracts that were formerly unavailable. Read more here.

DOD, GSA, and NASA Include Overseas Contracts in Small Business Contracting Goals
The Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to support the Small Business Administration (SBA) policy of including overseas contracts in agency small business contracting goals. This final rule allows small business contracting procedures such as set-asides to apply to overseas procurements. This rule takes effect May 26, 2022. Read more here.

DOD Amends DFARS to Change Types of Line Items and Contract Options for Development and Demonstration of Prototypes
The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 that amends the types of line items and contract options. The final rule broadens the scope of effort for which these contract line items and contract options can be awarded and the type of funding that may be used to fund these line items or options. This final rule also helps streamline the process for moving technologies developed under such contracts from science and technology into production. The rule took effect April 28, 2022. Read more here.

DOD Allows Contract for Item Using FAR Part 12 Procedures to Serve as Prior Commercial Item
The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 that amends the types of line items and contract options. The final rule broadens the scope of effort for which these contract line items and contract options can be awarded and the type of funding that may be used to fund these line items or options. This final rule also helps streamline the process for moving technologies developed under such contracts from science and technology into production. The rule took effect April 28, 2022. Read more here.

DOD Amends DFARS to Modify Small Purchase Threshold Exceptions
The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) by reducing the dollar threshold at which an acquisition is excepted from the source restrictions of the Berry Amendment from the simplified acquisition threshold to an amount not exceeding $150,000. The rule implements a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The rule took effect April 28, 2022. Read more here.

DOD, GSA, and NASA Publish Summary of FAR Rules
The Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-06a to summarize the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules agreed to by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council. Read more here. A companion document, the Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG), is available here.

SBA Revises Community Advantage Pilot Program to Increase Lending in Underserved Markets
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued revisions to the Community Advantage Pilot Program to encourage increased lending in historically underserved markets. The changes take effect May 31, 2022. The deadline for public comments is the same day. Read more here.

SBA Proposes Changes to Small Business Size Standards That Would Expand Eligibility in Manufacturing for Federal Contracting and Loan Programs
The Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to increase 150 and retain 282 employee-based size standards for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors related to Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction (Sector 21); Utilities (Sector 22); Manufacturing (Sector 31-33); Transportation and Warehousing (Sector 48-49); Information (Section 51); Finance and Insurance (Sector 52); Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Sector 54); and Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services (Sector 56). SBA also proposes to retain the current 500-employee size standard for federal procurement of supplies under the nonmanufacturer rule. The proposed changes will enable more mid-sized businesses to regain small business status and allow current small businesses to retain small business status for a longer period, thereby allowing them to benefit from SBA’s procurement and loan programs. Public comments are due June 27, 2022. Read more here.

SBA Announces 2022 National Small Business Week Cosponsors and Event Schedule
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the official cosponsors and schedule for its 2022 National Small Business Week (NSBW) Virtual Summit, themed “Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship,” which will take place May 2-5, 2022. Read more here.

GSA Wants Feedback on Diversity and Inclusion in Its Construction and Design Initiatives
The General Services Administration (GSA) is inviting the public to submit comments about ways in which it can boost diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in its construction and design initiatives. Responses to questions in the agency’s request for information are due May 12. Read more here.

NSA Re-awards Secret $10 Billion Contract to Amazon
Nextgov reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) has re-awarded a once-secret cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion to Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS won the contract, codenamed “Wild and Stormy,” in July 2021. The Government Accountability Office sided with Microsoft, which also competed for the contract, in its bid protest, but NSA ultimately selected AWS again. Read more here.

GAO Sustains Bid Protest Because Agency Communicated Only with the Awardee
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained the protest of Rice Solutions, LLC, a small business of Plymouth, NH, which protested the award of a contract to SOPOR LLC, of Manchester, KY, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 75H70622R00002, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service (IHS) for certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) services at the Great Plains Area Pine Ridge Service Unit healthcare facility in South Dakota. The protester argued that the agency’s conduct of the procurement was unreasonable because IHS unfairly engaged in discussions with only the awardee. Read more here.

Upcoming Government Contracts Presentations

WEBINAR: Legal Insight on Innovative Strategies for Small Business Growth, May 10, Frank Massaro and Meghan Leemon. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Nuts and Bolts of the SCA, May 12, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

WEBINAR: The Ins and Outs of Recertifications for Government Contractors, May 17, Sam Finnerty. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Growth by Acquisition: Important Considerations for Government Contractors, Part 2 of 2, May 18, Cy Alba. Read more here.

EVENT: Basic Requirements for Government Contracting, May 23, Peter Ford. Read more here.

EVENT: Peeps for Keeps: Finding and Managing Talent in a Competitive Job Market, May 24, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

WEBINAR: Supply Chain Pain: How Government Contractors Can Get Relief for Supply Chain Problems, May 24, Kevin Barnett. Read more here.

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

Maryland Assisted-living Facilities Will Pay $950,000 in Back Pay, Damages, and Penalties for Minimum Wage and Overtime Violations
International Health Care Consultants Inc. (IHCC), company owner and President Lois Peters, and Frank Dickerson, manager of four group homes owned and operated in Maryland by IHCC, will pay $466,642 and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 27 current and former employees, as well as a $16,716 civil money penalty. A Department of Labor (DOL) investigation found that the employers violated minimum wage and overtime rules by paying caregivers and technicians a day rate that was less than the federal hourly minimum wage and overtime requirements. They also found that when some employees worked overnight 24-hour shifts, the employer paid only a day rate for 12 hours of work and treated the remaining 12 hours as unpaid sleep or leisure time. Read more here.

Seven Michigan Residential Healthcare Workers Misclassified as Independent Contractors Will Get $94,000 in Back Overtime Pay
Department of Labor (DOL) investigators found that Gracious Adult Foster Care, a residential healthcare provider in Lansing, MI, misclassified seven workers as independent contractors and paid them a fixed monthly salary for all their work hours, denying them their full overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read more here.

DOL Recovers $29,000 in Back Overtime for 15 Florida Hotel Workers
Department of Labor (DOL) investigators found Fernwood Land LLC paid employees at the Fernwood Inn in Panama City Beach, FL, straight time for their overtime hours, and did so off-the-books and in cash, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read more here.

Upcoming Labor & Employment Presentations

WEBINAR: Nuts and Bolts of the SCA, May 12, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.

EVENT: Peeps for Keeps: Finding and Managing Talent in a Competitive Job Market, May 24, Nichole Atallah. Read more here.