In a recent GAO bid protest decision, HGS Engineering, Inc.; American Commercial Group, Inc. Challenging the government’s best value procurement decision, GAO agreed with the agency’s source selection decision. The protestors challenged the agency’s decision that the awardee’s proposal represented the best value to the government. These bid protest challenges,… Read more »
Qualifying under the Code of Federal Regulations 13 CFR 125.18 as an SDVOSB Joint Venture agreement means that you must first qualify as an SDVOSB. Getting the best guidance about the rules can put your company in a strong position even before you bid on a federal contract. Although this seems… Read more »
The McNamara O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA Government Contracts) mandates that federal contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 must pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and SCA fringe benefits found prevailing in that specific locality, or the rates… Read more »
Federal contractors are being caught with submitting bids with a contractor letter of intent to hire that have no substance. Getting the proper guidance on this issue can make the difference between getting the contract or somehow getting to the point where there is a false representation. The latter can… Read more »
Does Your SBA Operating Agreement Comply With the Rules Under 13 CFR 121.103? If Not, You Can Lose Your Contract. When making size determinations and affiliation under the negative control definition for small businesses, the SBA not only looks at finding actual control over the protested business but also whether a non-disadvantaged… Read more »
Avoid Costly and Painful Mistakes that Other Government Contractors Make With Performance of Contract Ratings. As a federal government contractor, your contractor past performance evaluation is recorded by having CPAR ratings under FAR Part 42. The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) might allow for valid reasons why the agency may have given… Read more »
Failure to Follow CDA Claims Filing Requirements Will Get the Appeal Dismissed If the Contracting Officer issues a final decision denying your contract claim against the government, you have rights to appeal the decision to the US Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA). However, there are specific rules of procedure… Read more »
When an agency decides to award sole source contracts, a FAR 6.303 Justification and Approval (J&A) is required as a check and balance to the Competition in Contracting Act requirement that federal contracting agencies must resort to full and open competition procurements. Many contractors often want to challenge the agency’s… Read more »
Small businesses involved in government contracting find themselves excluded from opportunities because of FAR sole source justification contracts. Government contract law allows federal agencies the opportunity to award sole source contracts, so long as the explanation is reasonable and does not violate other regulations. Do Government Sole Source Contracting Justifications Violate… Read more »
After 1997, FAR competitive range requirements are somewhat different. Before, the Agency had to consider whether your proposal stood a reasonable chance of award. However, FAR § 15.306(c)(1) a government contracting agency can exclude your proposal from the competitive range if it is not rated as one of “most highly… Read more »