SmallGovCon Week in Review: Mar. 8 – Mar. 12, 2021

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers. The new movie Yes Day comes out today: a day where parents let kids be in charge for a day. And yes, we may be doing a similar thing at our house. For federal contractors, it may feel like it is always Yes Day when responding to government requests. But it can help to know just when you have to say yes to the government, and when you don’t have to.

Staying up to date with the latest in federal contracting can help when responding to the government. The updates this week included extension of leave reimbursement for contractors and other benefits for contractors in the latest COVID relief package, a DoD audit report about overpayments to contractors, and list of scams targeting SAM users.

8(a) Joint Venture Fraud Allegations Lead to False Claims Act Settlement

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Steven Koprince

The SBA’s joint venture rules can be strict. Mistakes like failing to update a joint venture agreement, inserting ambiguous provisions in a joint venture agreement, or relying on an expired mentor-protege agreement can be costly.

Good faith mistakes are one thing–the joint venture may lose out on a contract, but probably won’t face other penalties. But when the government believes that a contractor knowingly violated the joint venture rules, the repercussions can be much more serious–as seen in a recent False Claims Act settlement involving allegations of fraud under the 8(a) joint venture regulations.

GAO Finds Agency’s Technical Evaluation Inadequate, but Refuses to Invalidate Award

Posted on March 9, 2021 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Leasing office space in a flood plain seems like a bad idea. Most people want an office with a view, but not a view of their office desk floating down a first-floor hallway. In a recent protest decision, GAO said that the agency failed to adequately document its evaluation, despite its own solicitation requirements.

But even when your protest is sustained, GAO may still recommend the award remain in place. How can that be? Follow along, while I lead you through what you need to know.

Happy International Women’s Day From SmallGovCon!

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Nicole Pottroff

We at SmallGovCon just wanted to take a minute to wish all the amazing women out there a Happy International Women’s Day! And we would like to send a special shout-out to all of our WOSBs and EDWOSBs while we are at it!

Here’s to commemorating women’s history of achievement and celebrating the bright future to come!

SBA Answers Questions on 8(a) Program Extension

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Shane McCall

For those who didn’t see it, SBA recently put out guidance on how the 8(a) program term extension will work. The guidance provides some nice examples of how the process will play out.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Mar. 1 – Mar. 5, 2021

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Shane McCall

Next week is spring break in these parts. The weather should be great and I hope all of our readers are able to enjoy it! It’s also getting down to the finals of the college basketball season. It won’t be the same as last year for the KU Jayhawks, but they should still have a good showing in the tournament.

This week saw some important updates in federal contracting, such as a prediction on defense spending under the Biden administration, a delay of independent contractor status rules under FLSA, and DoD employee ethics reminders.

Event: Service Contract Act & Davis-Bacon Act “101”

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Steven Koprince

The Biden administration recently announced plans to increase enforcement of the federal prevailing wage laws for contractors–the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act. Non-compliance with these laws can be grounds for severe sanctions. (Heck, the DOJ just announced another False Claims Act settlement in a prevailing wage case yesterday!)

If you’re new to the world of prevailing wage laws, or just need a refresher, please join me on March 18 for an introductory “101” look at the SCA and DBA, hosted by the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center Network. It’s easy to register: just click here.

Hope to see you on the 18th!