An offeror’s plan to relocate a significant number of employees after the first year of a task order may have posed a risk to the offeror’s ability to retain qualified staff.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO held that it was unreasonable for a procuring agency to fail to consider the potential risks of an offeror’s plan to move a portion of its workforce to a different geographical area in order to take advantage of the relatively lower wages of that area.
With the recent flooding in the east, we hope that our readers who are being affected are staying safe and dry during this challenging time.
In this edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Air Force is struggling to make service contracts competitive, alleged WOSB fraud leads to a civil fraud lawsuit, Guy Timberlake delves into the merits of simplified acquisitions, and much more.
Large prime contractors operating under individual subcontracting plans would receive credit for small businesses performing at any subcontracting tier, according to a proposed rule issued yesterday by the SBA.
The proposed rule also requires large primes to assign a NAICS code and size standard to “solicitations” for subcontracts–a notion that may come as a surprise to prime contractors, many of whom do not typically issue formal subcontract solicitations.
The fiscal year has ended and a potential government shutdown was avoided…for now. As we jump into October, we look forward to cooler temperatures, football games, and fall festivities. Of course we haven’t forgotten that it is Friday, which means that it is time for the latest and greatest in government contracting.
This week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review includes stories on the end of the fiscal year, a hefty settlement for improper inflation of labor hours, some tips on improving your contracting experience and more.
In a stunning development in the Kingdomware SDVOSB/VOSB Supreme Court case, the Government has abandoned the argument that the statutory preference for veteran-owned companies applies only if the VA has not met its SDVOSB or VOSB contracting goals.
Although this argument was hotly debated, it was successful both at the Court of Federal Claims and again at the Federal Circuit. But now, just weeks away from oral arguments, the Government’s Supreme Court brief jettisons the Government’s own previously successful argument in favor of an entirely different rationale for refusing to honor the statutory SDVOSB and VOSB preferences.
The last-minute, wholesale substitution of arguments doesn’t say much for the Government’s confidence in its case. And on the merits, the Government’s new argument is no better than the one it has abruptly abandoned.
Under certain circumstances, the winning bidder on a fixed-price contract may offer $0.00.
In a recent decision, LCPtracker, Inc.; eMars, Inc., B-410752.3 et al (Sept. 3, 2015), the GAO held an offeror submitting a zero-dollar offer (that is, an offer for $0.00) was eligible to receive a fixed-price contract because both the Government and the contractor would receive benefits under the contract.
With a potential government shutdown looming, this week’s top news stories focus on the effects that a shutdown may have on government contractors. But the shutdown isn’t the only government contracting news out there. This week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review also includes stories on the government’s new minimum wage and sick leave policies, among others.