FAR Final Rule: Increased Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds

The Federal Acquisition Regulation has officially been updated to increase the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold, effective August 31, 2020. Various federal agencies had already increased the thresholds through deviations, but this rule makes it official across the board. A few additional thresholds will increase due to inflation.

Read on for the details on how this could impact federal procurement.

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Room for Improvement: GAO Reviews Agency Oversight of Small Business Subcontracting Plans

Recently, GAO published a report on small business subcontracting plan compliance, concluding that agency oversight of these plans need improvement.

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Clean-Up on Aisle “FAR”: Joint Venture and Subcontracting Plan Rules Get Modernized

Joint ventures and small business subcontracting are two issues near and dear to the hearts of many small business federal contractors. Well, the Federal Acquisition Regulation will soon be updated with respect to both of these topics. The new rules will align with SBA’s rules and remove any inconsistencies. Let’s dive in!

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Congress Changes the Rules on PPP Loan Forgiveness, but Questions Remain

Newly passed changes to the Paycheck Protection Program are designed to make it easier for small businesses to have their loans forgiven.

The Paycheck Protection Program has been around since the end of March and provides funds for small businesses to retain employees and keep operating during the global coronavirus pandemic. If used properly, the business should have all or a portion of the loan forgiven. The new law eases some of the restrictions on how that money can be spent.

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Required Disclosures to the Government did not Waive Attorney Client Privilege, 4th Circuit Finds

Attorney-client privilege is a cornerstone of the American legal system. It protects conversations between an attorney and their client from disclosure during litigation. The goal of this protection is to allow an attorney to provide the best representation possible by protecting client communications from being later leveraged during litigation. Sometimes, however, invocation of attorney-client privilege protections can be complicated by required disclosures.

But federal contractors are required to notify the government about various circumstances that may impact their role as contractors. What if there is a conflict between mandatory government disclosures and attorney-client privilege? In a recent decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals was asked to determine whether certain mandatory disclosures under the FAR waived attorney client privilege.

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CMMC Update: Details on Certification Infrastructure and COTS Products

The framework for the DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) process continues to move forward. Here’s an update on what’s currently happening with the CMMC that includes a few more details the DOD and the independent CMMC Accreditation Body have recently released about the nuts and bolts of the certification process.

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