Many “small” businesses listed in Federal Procurement Data Systems find themselves in a paradox—they’re at once too small to compete with large contractors, but also too large to benefit from small business set-asides. These growing firms have achieved what every small business owner hopes for—start small, gain market traction, and grow. But when a firm graduates from the benefits of small business set-asides, they enter the “mid-tier” — a murky limbo that can leave them vulnerable and, potentia
Reproduced with permission from Federal Contracts Report, 105 FCR (May 11, 2016). Copyright 2016 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com
GSA Sends Warning Letters to Contractors Over Origins of Products
The General Services Administration (GSA) is clamping down on thousands of federal contractors to ensure that products sold to government agencies are made in the U.S. or are otherwise in compliance with the Trade Agreement Act (TAA), Bloombery BNA has learned.
The GSA FAS Office of Acquisition Management is planning to refresh all Multiple Award Schedules to incorporate provision and clause updates. For Schedules that offer services, both professional and nonprofessional, the solicitation refresh and corresponding mass modification will also update the application of the Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) to align with the U.S. Department of Labor’s SCLS compliance procedures.
They recently issued a presentation that outlines the planned changes
Earlier this week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a publication related to the rights of individuals with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when requesting leave from work as a reasonable accommodation. While the ADA clearly requires employers provide qualified disabled individuals with a “reasonable accommodation” to permit the individual to perform the essential functions of the job, the entitlement to leave as such an accommodation has bee
Alleluia! Inconsistence SCA implementation from GSA be gone!
GSA has finally issued guidance on the implementation of the Service Contract Labor Standards (formerly called the Service Contract Act). It seems like dog years ago and certainly several changes of leadership at GSA when I first met with them about issuing uniform SCLS guidance.
How Do We Know This?
GSA published a draft refresh of Schedule 23V (firetrucks, auto, and auto parts and accessories) which contains the draft guidance alo
By Barbara Kinosky
My Driveway
I wake up to yet another day of rain in the Washington D.C. metro area. It wouldn’t be so bad if my driveway was not a mud pit. Years ago a crafty driveway company talked us into a pebble driveway which looked like it was in Architectural Digest – for all of a couple of years. Rocks eventually roll downhill and my driveway has a definite slope to it. I also have discovered that it is cheaper to put down gravel than it is to remove it and that crews don’t like
Mrs. Kinosky has been invited to speak during the “Enterprise Risk Management Session – Managing Fraud Risk through ERM and current trends with GSA Price Reductions” on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 11:10am in Tysons Corner, VA.
About Barbara Kinosky
Barbara Kinosky is the Managing Partner of Centre Law and Consulting and has over twenty-five years of experience in all aspects of federal government contracting. Barbara is a nationally known expert on GSA and VA Schedules and the Service Contract Ac
Currently, the U.S. Government is revising the U.S. export control and enforcement framework. The new system is designed to facilitate efficiencies and coordination within the U.S. Government, protect national security and critical technologies, and cut costs to U.S. exporters. However, compliance will remain paramount because the U.S. Government is also consolidating its enforcement mechanisms.
Background:
In August 2009, President Obama directed a broad-based inter-agency review of the U.S
