At their best, the mentor-protégé programs administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are programs whereby large business mentors may partner with small business protégés—providing the small business with resources, knowledge, and an overall enhancement of capabilities. The program also provides that, under certain circumstances, the mentor-protégé team can also jointly venture to compete for
Helping individuals, companies, and organizations understand key legal and practical considerations for promoting compliance and making better business decisions in these types of federal, state, and local government contracting matters MORE
Small Business / Socioeconomic Issues
DoD Increases the Justification and Approval Threshold for Its Sole Source Contract Awards to 8(a) Contractors to $100 Million
Implementing Section 823 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA FY ‘20), on July 5, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) amended the DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to increase the threshold for requiring sole source justifications of awards to Small Business Administration (SBA) certified 8(a) small disadvantaged businesses. …
Flouting Affiliation Rules When Pursuing Small Business Set-Asides Can Lead to FCA Woes
If you were somehow still wondering whether small businesses really need to be concerned about the affiliation rules in the Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations, the answer is a resounding “Yes.” Furthermore, running afoul of those rules can easily lead to liability under the False Claims Act (FCA), as most recently demonstrated by an Oklahoma…
Simplified Acquisition Procedures Afford Agencies a Lot of Latitude
Not being included, or being purposely excluded, may remind some of adolescence, and may remind others of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) simplified acquisition procedures. The recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc. (Phoenix), B-418304 (March 2, 2020) deals with facing the latter form of disappointment.
The underlying purchase order in…
OHA Decision Highlights the Perils of Mixing Business with Family
A cornerstone of the Small Business Administration (SBA) size regulations is that a business’s size is determined by measuring its size in addition to the size of its affiliates. The recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) decision in Size Appeal of: Cazador Investments LLC (Appellant), SBA No. SIZ-6048, 2020 WL 897975, discusses one…