On December 22, 2020, the US District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the federal government from enforcing portions of Executive Order 13950 (EO 13950), “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” We...
GAO Releases FY2020 Bid Protest Statistics
On December 23, 2020, GAO issued its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2020. The Annual Report provides data on the protests filed with the GAO, including a summary of the most common grounds for sustaining protests. GAO received 2,149 cases in...
Always, Always Check beta.SAM.gov – Part 2
With all the time and effort a contractor spends on marketing for new opportunities, it’s a shame when a missed opportunity had been previously announced on beta.SAM.gov – twice. We cannot stress enough how important monitoring beta.SAM.gov is. Several months ago, we...
FY 2021 NDAA Small Business Contracting Changes
On December 11, the Senate passed in an 84-13 vote the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the bill has now passed both the House and the Senate. The FY21 NDAA includes a number of provisions that impact government contractors, including those below...
SBA’s Recent Changes to the Small Business Joint Venture Rules
On October 16, 2020, the SBA issued an extensive final rule that makes numerous revisions and clarifications to the small business procurement regulations. We previously provided a high-level overview of some of the most significant changes implemented by the new...
Blameless Contractor Loses Contract After Agency Botches Conflict Inquiry
Blameless Contractor Loses Contract After Agency Botches Conflict Inquiry A friendly foosball game between long-time friends -- employees from a contractor and federal agency -- led to a contractor losing a contract even though the contractor broke no laws. The...
SBA’s Recent Changes to the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program
On October 16, 2020, the SBA issued an extensive final rule that makes numerous revisions and clarifications to the small business procurement regulations. We previously provided a high-level overview of some of the most significant changes implemented by the new...
Careful Drafting of a Teaming Agreement Can Pay Off
The often-heard claim that “a teaming agreement is not legally enforceable” is really a half-truth; the whole truth is that only some of the provisions in a teaming agreement are not enforceable. Because teaming agreements can play such a critical role in winning a...
SBA Issues Extensive Final Rule Revising Several Small Business Contracting Regulations
On October 16, 2020, the SBA issued an extensive final rule that makes numerous revisions and clarifications to the small business procurement regulations. This article provides a high-level overview of some of the most significant changes implemented by the new...
Executive Order Prohibiting Divisive Workplace Training
Executive Order Prohibiting Divisive Workplace Training by Aleksey House (Law Clerk) On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13950, “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” which bans federal contractors from providing training that...