​The Small Business Blog

On September 11, 2015 the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published its Final Rule on Pay Transparency, which implements the Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information Executive Order which was signed by President Obama on April 8, 2014.  The Final Rule takes effect on January 11, 2016.  

On September 14, 2015, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a Final Rule which implements the provisions of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorize sole-source contracts for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB).  The Final Rule takes effect on October 14, 2015.  

How fitting that on Labor Day, a day celebrating the contributions and achievements of American Workers, the White House should formally announce the President's signing of the Executive Order:  Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors.  This announcement should come as no surprise - in a blog post about a month ago, we advised readers to expect this after the New York Times first broke the story that a draft EO was in the works. 

On August 20, 2015, the GAO sustained a protest in: The Matter of Fire Risk Management, Inc. (August 20, 2015). The protest was sustained where the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) determination that there was not a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from 2 or more SDVOSBs was not supported by the record.  In particular, the protester, Fire Risk Management, Inc. (FRM) asserted that the VA's decision not to set aside a particular acquisition for SDVOSBs was based on unreasonable market research.