When contractors think of protests or litigation related to federal contracting, likely their thoughts go to a bid protest or a size protest. Additionally, when thinking of protesting prior to bids being due, the focus generally is on the wording and provisions of a solicitation. However, contractors should not forget how powerful a tool a NAICS code appeal could be for small business procurements. A recent brief decision in a NAICS code appeal serves as reminder of how useful a simple NAICS code appeal can be for contractors.
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GovCon FAQs: How do I Show Service-Disabled Veteran Status for SBA?
Many federal contractors are familiar with or have heard of the Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) program. It is currently run by the SBA, but previously was administered by the VA. Due to the nature of the program being around for a while, and shifting from one agency to another in the past few years, undoubtedly there are some requirements that have changed, but contractors may not realize it. One of the requirements that has experienced change is one of the most basic: how you establish that you are a Service-Disabled Veteran. In this installment of our GovCon FAQs series, we tackle, how do you show or prove your Service-Disabled Veteran Status, now that the SDVOSB program is under the SBA?
Continue readingWhy File: A GAO Bid Protest Intervention
When contractors think of GAO Bid Protests, most think of the process from the perspective of the protester. However, the contract awardee is not without a voice in the bid protest process at GAO. While the agency will generally defend the contract award decision regardless, the awardee itself can also have a seat at the table. In this installment in our “Why File” series, we will explore why a contractor would want to file an intervention in a GAO Bid Protest.
Continue readingNo Protesting Canceled Contracts, Says COFC
Often contractors will protest an award, then learn that the contract at issue was cancelled by the government due to corrective action. When that occurs, contractors of course feel as if their concerns were not resolved, or the protested other parties were let off the proverbial hook. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently explained that if that happens, there is no procurement left to protest, even if there are related research and development projects or actions continuing within the Government.
Continue readingGovCon FAQs: Do I need an SBA MPA for a JV?
We at SmallGovCon are excited to announce this first in a new line of blogs we call GovCon FAQs. Our firm handles a wide variety of federal procurement and contract matters, from bid protests, size protests, joint ventures, socio-economic certifications, to everything in between. Often, when talking to blog readers and contractors we hear the same sort of questions pop up. Of course, we can only provide direct legal advice to our clients. But many of these questions hit on issues that face contractors as a whole, or are items that are commonly misunderstood. So, we decided contractors needed an FAQ page for those common general questions. This blog will kick off that FAQ page for contractors. The first big frequently asked question:
Do I need an SBA Mentor-Protege Agreement to form a joint venture and perform on federal contracts as a joint venture?
Continue readingPreview Shows Changes to 8(a) Application in New SBA Portal
As many in federal contracting know, the SBA had its certification portal (certify.sba.gov) closed for upgrades for a few months. The SBA is replacing it with a new portal called MySBA Certifications which as of the writing of this blog post is now live. While it hasn’t been widely published, SBA released screenshots of this new portal, which indicate SBA is making some large changes to applications, especially for applications to the 8(a) Program. We here at SmallGovCon think it is important for Federal Contractors to be aware of these changes before utilizing this new portal.
Continue readingSBA Proposed Rule: New Size and Status Recertification Standard
Editor’s Note: SBA implemented this rule effective January 16, 2025.
In a proposed rule in August of 2024, SBA has unveiled a brand new regulation related specifically to recertification of size and status. A frequent question of federal contractors is whether they can continue to be small, or maintain a specific socio-economic status (i.e., WOSB, SDVOSB etc.) after a change in ownership or business structure. The SBA’s size and status recertification standards are currently found in multiple places: the size determination timing regulations, each socio-economic status regulation, and of course in case law. But this would presumably create a one stop shop for size recertification questions, while also changing some of the long relied-upon standards.
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