By Steven Koprince via LinkedIn
Federal government contracting can be challenging. Expert insights can help!
Every month in this newsletter, I publish the GovCon Reading List, a selection of the previous month’s best expert-written articles on government contracting. These aren’t just any ol’ articles: they’re carefully curated for your education and enjoyment by a hand-picked blue-ribbon panel of good-looking, fashionably-dressed and tremendously humble individuals. (A panel, in other words, consisting of me).
Here’s the GovCon Reading List for November 2023!
- OHA: JV Violates Two-Year Rule, Loses Award by Shane McCall with Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC. This article is an important reminder of the SBA’s two-year rule for joint venturers. As one JV learned the hard way, violate the rule and you could lose a contract.
- DOL Increases Hourly Minimum Wage to $17.20 for Federal Contractors Starting January 1, 2024 by Nichole Devries Atallah with PilieroMazza PLLC. Beginning January 1, 2024, the Department of Labor is raising the minimum wage for covered service and construction workers performing work on federal projects.
- FAR Cyber Threat and Incident Reporting and Information Sharing Rule by Bob Huffman, Susan B. Cassidy and others with Covington & Burling LLP. The FAR Council has released two new proposed cybersecurity rules. (No, this isn’t CMMC–these are separate rules!) One of these rules, if adopted as proposed, would require contractors to report cybersecurity incidents within eight hours.
- SBA, DoD-NISP Release Notice on Security Clearance Requirements for Joint Ventures by Bob Tompkins, Erin Estevez and others with Holland & Knight LLP. For years, contractors have struggled with how to comply with Facility Security Clearance requirements when forming an unpopulated joint venture under the SBA’s regulations. Now, SBA and DoD have jointly provided definitive guidance.
- Ultima Services Corporation Files Reply Brief for Injunction against 8(a) Contracts by Christopher Slottee with Schwabe. Think the Ultima 8(a) case is over? Think again. The plaintiff has asked the judge to increase the scope of the injunction–including by outright banning 8(a) contracts in certain industries.
- SBA and Industry Leaders Reaffirm Support for 8(a) Program in Light of Recent Judicial Attacks by Nicole Pottroff with Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC. Speaking of the Ultima case, the SBA isn’t staying quiet. It released a press release reiterating support for the 8(a) Program–not only within government, but from a wide range of industry leaders.
- SBA Updates Its Regulations on Lower-Tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit by James A. Tucker, Damien Specht and others with Morrison Foerster. The SBA has issued a final rule updating the regulations governing when a large prime contractor can claim small business subcontracting credit for awards made to lower-tier subcontractors.
- Joint Venture Agreement Fails for Lack of Detail–And Too Much Detail on Venturer Control by Shane McCall with Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC. Joint venture agreements under the SBA’s regulations are full of pitfalls for the unwary. In a recent case, the SBA declared a joint venture ineligible for award because the joint venture agreement was missing certain required details–while also including information suggesting that the Managing Venturer may not have sufficient control.
- SBA Office of Inspector General Sounds the Alarm on Self-Certified SDBs by Steven Koprince (hey, I know that guy!) As the government’s goal for awarding contracts to self-certified Small Disadvantaged Businesses rises to 13% in Fiscal Year 2024, SBA’s Office of Inspector General is sounding the alarm, saying that the practice of counting awards to self-certified SDBs is “inherently risky.”
- Interest is Unallowable – How is That Possible? by John Shire with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. Sometimes, an unallowable cost is intuitive–like alcoholic beverages under FAR 31.205-51. But what about interest? This article takes a look at what may seem like a strange exclusion.
- Government Accountability Office Publishes Fiscal Year 2023 Bid Protest Statistics by Richard Oliver, David Dixon and others with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. The GAO has published its annual bid report, and at first blush the numbers may appear shocking: protests and sustains are both up sharply. This article explains what happened.
- For Your Crimes, You Have Been Sentenced to Unpaid Labor at a Pumpkin Patch by Caleb Coy at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. This article has absolutely nothing to do with government contracting, but after reading all those expert insights, you’ve earned a chuckle or two. Enjoy!
