Federal government agencies propound small business contracting goals that guide other agencies with regard to how much of their contracting dollars should be awarded to small businesses. The SBA conducts an annual review and...more
On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”
The order states that it ends “all discriminatory and illegal preferences,...more
1/29/2025
/ 8(a) Program ,
Affirmative Action ,
Alaska ,
DBE Program ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Rule of Two ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Subcontracts ,
Tribal Corporations ,
Trump Administration
On December 17, the Small Business Administration issued a final rule that makes significant changes to the agency’s small business 8(a) and HUBZone programs. These generally extend the changes the SBA initially proposed in...more
12/24/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Business Development ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
SBA ,
SDVO ,
Small Business ,
WOSB
As we have previously discussed, a case filed in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Mid-America Milling Company, LLC, et. al. v. U.S. Department of Transportation, et. al., Case No. 3:23-cv-72,...more
On Friday, August 23, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would significantly change the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program and other small business programs, including the 8(a) Program...more
Comments are due by October 7, 2024.
On Friday, August 23, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would significantly change the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program and other small...more
On Friday, August 23, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to the SBA’s HUBZone small business contracting program, as well as modifications to other small business...more
8/26/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Comment Period ,
Deadlines ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Small Business
For forty years, the Chevron doctrine, established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), has been a cornerstone of administrative law in the United States. Under the...more
7/9/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alaska ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Government Agencies ,
Indian Gaming Regulation Act ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Small Business ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tribal Governments
June 14, 2024 Industry Group Leader On June 11, the Small Business Administration announced that it was extending the moratorium on the application of the bona fide place of business rule for 8(a) construction contracts to...more
On March 5, 2024, in its opinion and order for the case of Jeffrey Nuziard, et. al. v. Minority Business Development Agency, et. al., Case 4:23-cv-00278-P, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Fort...more
3/18/2024
/ 8(a) Program ,
Business Development ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Eligibility ,
Equal Protection ,
Ethnicity ,
Federal Contractors ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SBA
On December 1, 2023, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, Roger Williams, a Member of Congress from Texas, issued a letter to the Small Business Administration to request information regarding the SBA’s...more
On October 26, 2023, a new legal challenge to the federal Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program was filed in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Raising the...more
Karthik Consulting, LLC v. United States, Case No. 23-944, a recent Court of Federal Claims case, identifies an essential nuance in determining the eligibility of contractors who have graduated from the Small Business...more
11/1/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Construction Litigation ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
MACs ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Solicitation ,
USCIS
On Friday, October 6, 2023, Ultima Services Corporation filed a reply brief in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00041, which continued to argue for an injunction against the award...more
On Friday, September 29, 2023, the federal government filed its response to Ultima Services Corporation’s September 15th filing in the Ultima case. As a reminder, in its September 15th filing, Ultima Services Corporation...more
As of September 29, 2023, the SBA’s certify.gov portal for submitting 8(a) applications (for both individually owned and entity-owned applicants) is back open and accepting new applications.
The SBA had previously...more
Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture -
September 19, 2023 Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Shareholder On Friday, September 15, 2023, Ultima Services Corporation (“Ultima”) filed a motion...more
On September 1, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued an order in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00041, as a result of the status hearing...more
On August 30, 2023, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) filed a “Notice of Compliance” in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00041, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District...more
There were two important announcements from the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) on Monday, August 21, 2023:
- The SBA is extending the moratorium on the application of the bona fide place of business rule for 8(a)...more
On April 27th, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published a final rule making changes to the regulations governing the 8(a) program. This final rule is SBA’s implementation of the proposed rules issued by the...more
8/23/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
EDWOSB ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
NAICS ,
New Rules ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Veterans ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB
On July 27, 2023, the United States Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2024 (S.2226), setting the stage for negotiation with the House of Representatives over the...more
In the past several months, various challenges have been made to federal programs and policies including tribal gaming support, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) program, the Minority Business Development Program...more
8/3/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Biden Administration ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Indian Gaming ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Minimum Wage ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Tribal Governments
On April 27th, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published a final rule making changes to the regulations governing the 8(a) program. This final rule is SBA’s implementation of the proposed rules issued by the...more
8/2/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Bid Protests ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
New Regulations ,
New Rules ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
On April 27th, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published a final rule making changes to the regulations governing the 8(a) program. This final rule is SBA’s implementation of the proposed rules issued by the...more
7/28/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Business Development ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
SBA ,
SDVO ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
WOSB