Author: Cheryl Adams, Esq. How could this possibly go wrong? You cannot believe your good fortune: a large-business incumbent government contractor is not eligible for award of the agency’s follow-on procurement. The follow-on is a set-aside, the incumbent is too big to be eligible to compete for the contract. The… Read more »
Your small business may at some point receive an adverse small business size determination from the SBA. Since so much is at stake, your immediate reaction would be to file a U.S. Small Business Administration – SBA size appeal to the Office of Hearings and Appeals ( SBA OHA). Your… Read more »
On February 16, 2018, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) rolled out CAAC Letter No. 2018-02 to Federal agencies which was tantamount to the slight deviation to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for implementing the newly increased micropurchase and simplified acquisition thresholds. Does this mean that more small businesses will get… Read more »
The SBA has made it clear that populated joint venture government contracts will no longer be allowed. This change came about when the SBA issued its final rule about the Mentor Protégé Program. The new unpopulated joint venture rule says that when a joint venture is formed as a separate… Read more »
In Size Appeal of AeroSage, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5883 (2018) The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ruled that the SBA Area Office correctly dismissed the size protest for lack of standing because, by refusing Contracting Officer’s request to extend offer acceptance period, the small business firm had removed… Read more »
Given the new SBA regulations that address affiliation and whether the subcontractor was similarly situated, prime contractors can still find out the painful results if they do not adequately prepare their proposals and apply the legal standards. In the case of SIZE APPEAL OF The Frontline Group, SBA OHA made… Read more »
Small businesses that are bidding on government contracts must be aware of the risks of hiring management level employees from a competitor or a company where there have been previous relationships. Although the person has left the other company, the SBA’s investigation after a small business size protest is filed… Read more »
Federal government contractors interested in participating in the DOD Mentor Protege Program may want to get acquainted the new rules. There some slight twists to the SBA’s new regulations that both mentors and proteges should be familiar with Under 13 CFR 125.9 and 13 CFR 124.520 Although simply put in the… Read more »
Why is Affiliation an Important Issue in federal government contracting? Awarded contracts are frequently taken away becuase your company no longer meets the small business legal definition. Your competitor will often initiate a small business size protest and claim that your relationship with another business, usually a teaming partner or subcontractor,… Read more »
Possible relief to named subcontractors in government bids: Under the new SBA regulations, there seems to be some relief to small businesses that are named as subcontractors and teaming partners but are never used on the contract. This seems to be an increasing problem across the United States. In previous… Read more »