A small business cannot file a viable SBA size protest if the small business has been excluded from the competitive range, or if its proposal has otherwise found to be non-responsive or technically unacceptable.
In its recent final rule addressing the limitations on subcontracting, the SBA also clarifies when small businesses can–and cannot–file viable size protests.
A 1099 independent contractor is a subcontractor–not an employee.
This guidance comes from the SBA’s major new rule on the limitations on subcontracting, in which the SBA responded to public questions about how independent contractors are to be treated.
The SBA has issued a final rule implementing the changes to the limitations on subcontracting enacted by Congress in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.
The SBA’s final rule takes effect June 30, 2016–and will significantly change the way the limitations on subcontracting are calculated and enforced moving forward.
The SBA will broadly apply the so-called “interaffiliate transactions” exception under the SBA’s size rules, essentially overturning an SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision issued last year, in which OHA interpreted the exception very narrowly.
In a Policy Statement issued May 24, 2016, the SBA states that it will broadly apply the interaffiliate transactions exception “regardless of the type of relationship that resulted in the finding of affiliation.”
Defense contractors looking for a little more wall space to hang inspirational cat posters may be in luck. Today, the DoD issued a proposal to consolidate the various hotline poster requirements under DFARS 252.203-7004 (Display of Hotline Posters).
The DoD proposal certainly doesn’t fall under the category of major contracting news, but will be a welcome change for contractors feeling a little overburdened with mandatory government posters.
The SBA says that it expects to issue a final rule on its proposed “universal” mentor-protege program in June or July 2016.
Buried in an interview with Federal News Radio on the WOSB program (itself a worthy topic), John Shoraka, the SBA’s Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development stated that the SBA expects to issue a final rule this summer, and begin implementation in the fall.
Recently, many contractors have been asking me for updates on the universal mentor-protege program. Now we have one, and it’s time for contractors to start seriously thinking about taking advantage of this major new program.
The Army improperly used FAR 52.217-8 (Option to Extend Services) to extend several contracts for periods much longer than the six-month maximum allowed by the clause.
This conclusion comes from a recent GAO study, in which the GAO determined that the Army improperly applied FAR 52.217-8 in three out of five contracts studied by the GAO. And although the GAO’s report was narrowly focused on a handful of Army contracts, it leads me to wonder whether FAR 52.217-8 is being improperly used on a much broader scale.