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How Government Contractors Can Foster a Cohesive Team Culture Across Locations and Work Sites

9/18/2017

As competition for federal contracts increases, it is becoming increasingly common for federal contractors to pursue contracts with various agencies and in different locations, which may result in performance of work at several different installations, including in different states. As a result, federal contractors often find themselves with a fragmented workforce - meaning they have employees that work in a variety of different physical locations. For example, a single company may have an office in Honolulu and one in Florida, both of which employ the company's back office staff. This same company may also have staff that work remotely or on various government installations in both locations as well as in other states.

FAr Council Issues Final Rule Capping Employee Compensation

10/13/2016

On September 30, 2016, the FAR Council finalized its Interim Rule which capped the allowable compensation for all contractor employees at the benchmark set by Congress in Section 702 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The Interim Rule has been in effect since June 24, 2014. Under the Interim Rule and now the Final Rule, the cap on compensation remains at $487,000. Note that compensation includes the total amount of wages, salary, bonuses, deferred compensation, and employer contributions to defined contribution pension plans.

Can Federal contractors utilize A professional employer organization (peo)?

10/10/2016

One way of determining whether a business is small, for purposes of federal contracting and small business contracting programs, is by looking at the number of employees the business and its affiliates have. In addition, questions regarding who a business' employees are come up in the context of compliance with labor and employment laws/regulations. We are frequently asked whether federal contractors can utilize a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and if so, employees under a PEO arrangement are considered employees of the business.

paid sick leave regulations for federal contractors takes effect on January 1, 2017

10/9/2016

On September 7, 2015, President Obama signed Executive Order 13706, "Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors." On September 30, 2016, the Department of Labor issued a Final Rule implementing the Executive Order on paid sick leave for federal contractors. The Final Rule applies to covered prime contracts and subcontracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017. Many of our clients have called with questions about the Final Rule, so the following provides some general information about it.

SBA Issues Final Rule Implementing Provisions of the 2013 NDAA Pertaining to Limits on Subcontracting

6/11/2016

On May 31, 2016, the Small Business Administration issued a Final Rule implementing provisions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which pertain to performance requirements applicable to small business subcontracting, affiliation and joint ventures. Holomua Consulting Group submitted comments in response to the Proposed Rule and we are pleased to note that many of our comments were taken into consideration and our suggestions reflected in the Final Rule. The Final Rule takes effect on June 30, 2016. The following is a summary of the major points of the Final Rule.

Almost All Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Must Now Meet Minimum Cybersecurity Requirements

6/11/2016

On May 16, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to add a new subpart and contract clause for the basic safeguarding of contractor information systems. Put another way, these provide baseline or minimum cybersecurity requirements which almost all federal contractors and subcontractors will have to comply with. The rule will take effect on June 15, 2016.

Busy Employee's Failure to Respond to SBA Size Protest Results In Issuance of Adverse Size Determination

3/10/2016

On January 19, 2016, the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a decision in the Matter of: Size Appeal of Oxyheal Medical Systems, Inc. This appeal arose out of the SBA's size determination that Oxyheal was not a small business for the procurement at issue. The subject procurement was set aside entirely for small businesses under NAICS Code 811219, Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance, with a corresponding size standard of $20.5 million.

Affiliation: Minority Ownership In Another Company Can Lead To Common Ownership Affiliation

2/15/2016

On January 13, 2016, the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a decision in the Matter of: Size Appeal of Government Contracting Resources, Inc. This appeal, filed by Government Contracting Resources, Inc. (GCR) arose out of a size protest filed by two unsuccessful offerors and the subsequent size determination that GCI was not a small business due to its affiliation with Valley Indemnity, LTD. (Valley).

Highlights From The National 8(a) Association's Winter Conference

2/14/2016

On February 9 - 10, 2016, the National 8(a) Association held its annual winter conference in Orlando, Florida at the Caribe Royale Hotel. As usual, the conference was well attended by representatives of both industry and government. Attendees were treated to informative general sessions, a wide variety of breakout sessions, and numerous opportunities to network with other businesses, consultants and government representatives. Unfortunately, the weather was not as warm as some of us may have liked, but it was still a great conference.

Affiliation: Common Ownership in 8 Firms Leads to Finding of Affiliation Based on Common Investment Afffiliation

2/14/2016

On December 23, 2015, the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issued a decision in the Matter of: Size Appeal of Tenax Aerospace, LLC. (Tenax) This appeal, fiiled by Tenax Aerospace, LLC, arose out of a size protest filed by Flight Support, Inc. (FSI) (an unsuccessful offeror) and subsequent size determination by SBA that Tenax was not an eligible small business for purposes of the procurement at issue.

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