SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 2-6, 2026

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy March! The weather is turning warmer, but also stormier in our parts. We hope everyone is thawing out from winter and enjoying some nicer weather. Please enjoy the articles from the Week in Review, with updates on the FAR overhaul, AI in government, and adoption of CMMC. And note that key US historical documents will making a journey across the US soon, and may come to site near you. The first stop is Kansas City, Missouri, right down the road from us, where the documents will be transferred to the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

GAO Sustain: Failure to Acknowledge Solicitation Amendment was a Material Defect

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Annie Birney

Preparing and submitting a bid for a federal procurement requires strict compliance with the solicitation’s instructions. When a bidder fails to comply with these instructions (such as failing to acknowledge an amendment to the solicitation), the bidder may be surprised by the agency’s seemingly harsh decision to eliminate the bidder from award. But if the agency ignores the error and proceeds to award the contract to the bidder, the agency’s decision risks protest of the award from other bidders.

In Morrish-Wallace Constr. d/b/a Ryba Marine Constr. Co., B-423796.2 (Feb. 5, 2026), GAO examined whether an awardee’s failure to acknowledge an amendment to the RFQ constituted a minor informality that could be waived.

Skin of its Teeth: Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture Survives SDVOSB Status Protest Despite Missing Required Provisions in Joint Venture

Posted on February 27, 2026 by John Holtz

For the most part, the rules on joint ventures under SBA are very similar. the various regulations for small business, 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, and HUBzone joint ventures are so similar in fact that they are almost identical. But they are not perfectly identical. There are a few quirks that distinguish the regulations from the others, and one such quirk can cost contractors dearly if they are not careful. In today’s post, we will review an SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) case in which one SDVOSB nearly fell victim to this quirk to show what this quirk is, and how you can avoid the same.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 23-27, 2026

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! It seems like only last week that the winter Olympics ended (probably because it was last week). That means it is time to look forward to spring. With the buds and grass starting to shoot up, warmer weather is right around the corner. We just have to hold out for a few more weeks.

As we wrap up the week in the world of federal government contracting, we hope you can find the time to take a breath and reset this weekend. Key stories this week include awards on large IT contracts and a bill to change how contractor employees can be evaluated. Have a great weekend.

FAR 2.0 Update: Deviations and FAR Companion Guide

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Shane McCall

SmallGovCon readers may have read up on recent posts regarding the the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, or simply RFO. For background, our earlier posts regarding various aspects of the RFO can be found here: Executive Order, Overview of FAR 2.0, FAR Part 6, FAR Part 19, FAR Part 12, FAR Part 15, FAR Part 33.

While the drumbeat of new FAR part revisions ended in October 2025, the RFO has not gone away. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite. The RFO revisions have now been adopted by many federal agencies as deviations, including the Department of Defense/War (DoW). Here is an update on the deviations and the FAR Companion guide.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 16-20, 2026

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! After a stretch of surprisingly mild winter days, that brisk north wind rolled in yesterday and reminded us that it’s still February. Brrr! We were crossing our fingers that the groundhog’s prediction wouldn’t hold up this year and that spring would make an early appearance. Judging by today’s chill, though, it seems he may have been correct after all.

We hope your week has been a productive one and that you’re keeping cozy in your corner of the community. Take a moment to relax and enjoy the articles we’ve gathered for you below, including updates on the partial shutdown, a defense of the 8(a) Program, and DoD procurement overhauls. Have a great weekend.

Federal Court: Temp Workers Count As Employees Under SBA Rules

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Shane McCall

Small business size for federal procurement can be measured based on receipts or employee counts. Some small business procurements are set aside for small businesses as determined by the employee counts of those businesses, as opposed to the more common receipts based size-standard. SBA size rules, in turn, define what is an employee for those size standards that use employee counts, including whether temporary workers must be included in the employee count.

Employee counts were also utilized for PPP loan purposes, to determine what companies were eligible for PPP loans, with PPP loans only available to companies under certain headcounts. A recent federal district court decision turned on the definition of employee for PPP loan purposes. However, this case should be instructive for determining employee counts for all SBA purposes, including federal procurement, since the employee definitions for PPP loans and small business contracting are the same.