​The Small Business Blog

As expected, the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program made the SBA Office of Inspector General's list of top management challenges facing the SBA in Fiscal Year 2015.  On October 17, the OIG issued its Report on the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Small Business Administration In Fiscal Year 2015.  According to the Inspector General, the report represents the OIG's "current assessment of Agency programs and/or activities that pose significant risks, including those that are particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, error, mismanagement, or inefficiencies."

On October 8, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Busk v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., 713 F.3d 525 (9th Cir. 2013), where they will decide whether employers will be required, in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to compensate employees for the time employees spend going through security at the end of their shift.  On its face, the answer to the question of compensation for that time seems straightforward (either yes or no) - however, as with most things in law, nothing is ever straightforward.  We recently addressed a similar issue with one of our clients, a federal government contractor, so we thought it might be an issue that other government contractors would be interested in hearing about. 

On September 30, 2014, the Office of Management and Budget approved the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (OFFCP) revised Scheduling Letter, Itemized Listing and Compliance Check Letter covering the Executive Order 11246 non-construction, supply and service aspects of the agency's program.  

The revisions to these documents were made primarily to enable the OFCCP, as part of their compliance checks/evaluations, to determine contractor compliance with the requirements imposed by the revised Section 503 and VEVRAA regulations which took effect on March 24, 2014.