By Marilyn Della-Badia Jill Aitoro of the Washington Business Journal reported on Jan. 25, 2013, that there’s some concern in the government procurement community that a new law to protect defense contractor employees who blow the whistle on their own companies for procurement fraud doesn’t go far enough. The concern is that contractors don’t receive...
Category: Government Contracts
Agency Is Taking a New Look at HUBZone Program for Small Businesses
Although it is not giving much detail about precisely what it plans to do, the Small Business Administration has announced that it has been reviewing the processes and procedures that it uses for implementing its HUBZone program and that it has determined that several of the program’s regulations should be amended in order to resolve...
DHS Procurement Is Put Off Again; Delay May Hurt Small Businesses
The Department of Homeland Security has pledged to make a new information-technology contract a model for government-wide efforts to contract with small businesses. But, according to a recent article by Jill Aitoro in the Washington Business Journal, it has missed its deadline for a substantial portion of the contract awards. The contracts are for portions...
Philadelphia Announces New Rules for Minority and Women Preferences in Contracts
We recently wrote here that if a company wants to benefit from government programs that provide for preferences for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) firms, it needs to be fully aware that different jurisdictions have different certification requirements. Not all city or state governments will accept all MBE or WBE certifications....
Contractors Note: SBA Changes Size Rules for ‘Small Businesses’
By Carol L. O’Riordan How large can a business be and still be considered a “small business”? This definition can matter a great deal to a company that wants to benefit from small business preferences, set-asides, and loan programs. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the agency that keeps track of such things. Under the...
How to Navigate the Complexities of Women, Minority-Owned Business Programs
These days, the tax code seems to be a method of choice to help people save energy, buy homes, and engage in many other socially productive activities. However, there don’t seem to be any tax incentives, as yet, for companies that hire women- or minority-owned suppliers or contractors. The incentives that exist are somewhat different....
What Happens If Workers Are Laid Off Because We Hit the ‘Fiscal Cliff’?
What will happen to workers who are laid off from government contractors because of financial cutbacks that would be required by the “fiscal cliff” takes effect? Of course, we don’t know whether this process, known as sequestration, will actually occur, since we don’t know whether Congress and President Obama will agree on spending cuts and...
In Defense of DBE Contracting
A recent article on contracting with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, published in a widely read construction law periodical, raised eyebrows here at O’Riordan Bethel. The apparent objective of the article was to warn the reader against the purportedly grave dangers of doing business with DBEs. The article suggested caution when contracting with DBEs for a variety...
A Lawyer’s View of Government Contracts and Litigation, Looking Toward 2013
By Carol L. O’Riordan As we see matters now in two of our principal practice areas – government contracts and litigation – we are at a crossroads as the economic stimulus and two overseas wars wind down. We are approaching the end of the $767 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed in 2009 to...
If You’re Active in Federal Contracting, You Need to Meet SAM
MEET SAM. Like many federal contractors, our firm has been following the progress of the System for Award Management (SAM) — a new web portal and records management system for federal contracting. While it was in its development stage, we had our eye on SAM and now the site has launched. SAM’s ambitious and noble...