Contractors can spend tens of thousands of dollars and much more to pursue contracts. When they fall short, they want to know why.
Source: Inside the good, the bad and ugly of debriefings and bid protests — Washington Technology
The Energy Department issued a solicitation back in April for the construction and completion of a capacitor bank at a substation in Arizona. Ten bids were received including one from Addison Construction Company. Addison was the low bidder.
Crowell & Moring’s “All Things Protest” podcast keeps you up to date on major trends in bid protest litigation, key developments in high-profile cases, and best practices in state and federal procurement. In this episode, hosts Olivia Lynch, Rob Sneckenberg, and Christian Curran cover common questions and recent developments regarding debriefings.
Source: All Things Protest: Debriefings | Government Contracts Legal Forum
Part of our mission at Washington Technology is to provide the news and information you need to be a better government contractor.
To meet that mission, we provide daily news coverage and commentaries. We have our Top 100, the M&A Special Report and the Fast 50. We publish Insider Reports. We host webcasts and live events. We recently launched the Project 38 podcast to explore how the market is changing.
And now, I’m very happy to announce the launching of an online learning initiative with the availability of our first on demand training course.
Source: WT launches online training courses — Washington Technology
Recently, GAO sustained a bid protest where the ratings assigned to the unsuccessful offeror’s proposal did not conform to the definitions identified within the Solicitation. For those of you frequent the blog, you may recall earlier this year when we blogged on GAO’s decision in Immersion Consulting, LLC, B-415155 et al. (Dec. 4, 2017) where the Source Selection Authority had unilaterally revised the Source Selection Evaluation Board’s evaluation prior to making an award decision. GAO sustained the protest and instructed the agency to reevaluate proposals. This same procurement was subject to another round of protests following the agency’s reevaluation.
Source: GAO: Protest Sustained Where Agency Improperly Applied Adjectival Ratings – SmallGovCon
It’s not always clear how to position and build brand awareness for one’s business or startup, leading a lot of good businesses to make bad decisions. Sarah Woods is marketing director at Bridges, a rapidly-growing D.C.-based technology business, and has deep and diverse experience working with companies to make sure their branding and marketing is right for them. At Bridges, she’s been able to take their consulting business model and shift it to something that can successfully sell a service.
Source: How branding is pivotal to success – FederalNewsRadio.com
The Defense Department just published a proposed rule that, if adopted and most certainly will be adopted, will require its contractors to conduct anti-terrorism training to personnel that require routine physical access to a Federally-controlled facility or military installation.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Mandatory Antiterrorism Training for Government Contractors
Last week, the President’s decision to forgo a cost of living pay raise for Federal Government employees in 2019 made national news. Other than the Federal workforce and related organizations (e.g. AFGE), not too many gave the decision a passing thought. These decisions however have a way of reverberating back to the public who need an efficient Government bureaucracy, including Government contractors who rely on Government employees to solicit, award, and administer their contracts. The impact may not be felt immediately but it impacts the Government’s ability to attract and retain (emphasis on retain) a capable workforce. Spend any time at all with Government employees and you’ll soon hear them bemoaning the loss of employees who left for better pay, better working conditions, and better appreciation. They too are looking for an exit. Who’s going to fill their shoes? Someone with inexperience, likely. We recently encountered a contracting officer making million dollar decisions, with six months of experience under her belt.
I’m just back from El Paso, where I had a great time discussing small business size and affiliation issues at the Contract Opportunities Center. This presentation got me thinking: “Wouldn’t our loyal SmallGovCon readers want to know 5 Things about size protests and appeals?”
Source: 5 Things You Should Know: Size Protests and Appeals – SmallGovCon
The Department of Labor has announced the 2019 minimum wage rate for contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors.
The 2014 executive order raised the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing work on covered federal contracts to $10.10 per hour starting January 1, 2015. For covered tipped employees, the order set an hourly cash wage of at least $4.90.
Source: 2019 Contractor Minimum Wage Increased to $10.60 | Government Contracts Blog
