The Department of Labor on January 7, 2021 posted a final rule regarding the classification of so-called “gig contractors.” The final rule is set to take effect on March 8, 2021. A big question mark looms over whether this rule will actually take effect. The incoming Biden administration, as most incoming administrations have done, intends to freeze all pending regulations which have yet to take effect.
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2020 Rewind: The Year’s Biggest Government Contracting News Affecting Small Businesses
Let’s face it: most people won’t look back on 2020 with anything remotely approaching nostalgia. Here at Koprince Law LLC, we are eager to turn the page and move on with 2021, too.
But small businesses shouldn’t forget 2020 completely. The year brought many important developments, including major changes to some key government contracting rules that our readers should remember. So here, in a nutshell, are the most important 2020 government contracting changes and legal developments for small businesses.
Continue readingReverse Auctions: Proposed Rule Poised to Strengthen Regulatory Framework
The DoD, NASA, and GSA have proposed new rules aimed at providing transparency for reverse auctions after GAO reports in 2013 and 2018 signaled the need for guidance on reverse auctions to achieve cost savings and reduce fees.
As context, the FAR was amended in 1997 to allow for the use of reverse auctions. Six agencies conducted approximately 15,000 reverse auctions in 2016 alone. Reverse auctions, despite their wide use, are not without controversy. Application of fees, and inability to verify actual cost savings plague the use of reverse auctions.
Private companies have developed software and services which companies use to, hopefully, increase their chances in reverse auctions.
As a result, a new proposed rule is open for comments here.
Continue reading8(a) Term Extension Questions and Details
Since the COVID-19 Relief Bill passed was enacted on December 27 (including the 8(a) term extension that we discussed earlier), the 15-day window for SBA’s rules on the extension falls on January 11. Here are some thoughts on how we think SBA may fill in the gaps for this important 8(a) term extension, based on our interpretation of the statute and feedback from SBA.
Continue readingCongress Requires Large Primes to Provide Past Performance Reviews to Small Subcontractors–And Agencies to Consider Them
Breaking into the federal government contracting marketplace can be challenging, and many small businesses choose to start as subcontractors. But when those companies later bid on prime contracts, they sometimes find that they cannot get past performance reviews for their subcontract work, or that the government won’t consider such reviews.
Now, Congress has stepped in. A provision in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act will require large prime contractors to provide small businesses with past performance reviews in certain cases, and will require agencies to consider them.
Continue reading8(a) Participants to Receive One-Year Extension Through COVID-19 Bill
Update: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was passed on December 27, 2020. The NDAA was passed on January 1, 2021.
Congress has included in the new COVID-19 relief bill a one-year extension of the term for participation in the 8(a) Program. Under the provision, any small business concern participating in the 8(a) program on or before September 9, 2020 may “elect to extend such participation by a period of 1 year”. This is good news, especially for those concerns in their last year of viability in the 8(a) program who may have felt shortchanged from COVID’s effects on the economy.
Continue readingIHS (Finally) Proposes Stronger Rules for Buy Indian Act
The Indian Health Service has released a proposed rule that will strengthen requirements for IHS to set aside contracts for businesses owned by tribal companies. The new rule should result in increased opportunities for native-owned businesses by bringing Buy Indian Act purchasing preferences in line with other purchasing policies such as the small business Rule of Two, and it’s about time, as this purchasing preference has been law for 110 years with little clarity on how agencies would enforce it.
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