Category Archives: Statutes and Regulations

Proposed SBA Rule Adopts 2017 NAICS Codes

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It is out with the old, in with the new at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

A proposed SBA rule change published Tuesday, April 18, would incorporate the 2017 NAICS code revision into the SBA’s size standards table. If the proposed rule is made final, it will replace SBA’s current size standards table, which SBA has relied on for making size determinations since 2012. The revised size standards table will add 21 new NAICS industries. The revised NAICS code table also will feature larger standards for six industries, smaller standards for two industries, and will switch one size standard from revenue-based to employee-based.

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SBA Processing “All Small” Mentor-Proteges In Eight Days

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The SBA is processing the typical “All Small” Mentor-Protege Program application in a lightning-fast eight days.

Speaking at the National 8(a) Association 2017 Small Business Conference, John Klein, the SBA’s Associate General  Counsel for Procurement Law, confirmed that All Small mentor-protege agreements are being processed very quickly.  I was in the audience this morning for Mr. Klein’s comments, which also included many other interesting nuggets on the SBA’s new All Small Mentor-Protege Program.

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Trump Won’t Repeal Obama’s Order Prohibiting Contractor LGBTQ Discrimination

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We are quickly approaching our 1000th blog post on the SmallGovCon blog. To celebrate we want to reward one lucky reader with a free one hour custom webinar for up to 50 people presented by Steven Koprince on the government contracting topic of your choice! You can enter by using the hashtag #SGC1000 on Twitter or Facebook just by telling us why you read the blog or what you love most about. You can also simply fill out this form to be entered. Good Luck!

President Donald Trump won’t repeal former President Obama’s 2014 Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

According to CNN and other news outlets, the new Administration will allow Executive Order 13672 to remain on the books.  The Executive Order, which was codified in the FAR in 2015, adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories under the FAR’s Equal Opportunity clause, FAR 52.222-26.

In recent days, the new Administration had faced repeated questions about whether Executive Order 13672 would remain in place.  While this week’s announcement puts those questions to rest, the fate of other government contracts Executive Orders signed by President Obama, such as the so-called “mandatory sick leave” Executive Order, remains uncertain.  My colleagues and I will keep you posted.

New FAR Rule Restricts Employee Confidentiality Agreements

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The FAR Council has added a new provision to the FAR to restrict the permissible terms of employee confidentiality agreements.

Effective January 19, 2017, contractors wishing to do business with the federal government will need to certify that they do not limit the ability of their employees to report waste, fraud, or abuse to appropriate government officials.

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SBA To Provide Strategy For Small Businesses To Improve Cybersecurity

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By the middle of this year, the U.S. Small Business Administration should have a strategy in place to assist small businesses with cybersecurity.

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act is chock full of interesting legal changes for government contractors, and although we have chronicled it in depth, that does not mean there is not necessarily more to be mined from the whopping 1,587-page legislation.

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ITVAR Nonmanufacturer Subject To 150-Employee Size Standard, Court Says

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An offeror submitting a proposal under a solicitation designated with the Information Technology Value Added Resellers exception to NAICS code 541519 must qualify as a small business under a 150-employee size standard–even if the offeror is a nonmanufacturer.

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held that an ITVAR nonmanufacturer cannot qualify as small based solely on the ordinary 500-employee size standard under the nonmanufacturer rule, but instead must also qualify as small under the much smaller size standard associated with the ITVAR NAICS code exception.

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SmallGovCon’s 2017 NDAA Government Contracting Roundup

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President Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act into law on December 23, 2016.  As is often the case, the NDAA included many changes affecting government contractors.

Here at SmallGovCon, my colleagues and I have been following the 2017 NDAA closely.  Here’s a roundup of all 16 posts we’ve written about the government contracting provisions of the 2017 NDAA.

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