New Training Coordinator - Lisa Lagerstrom is moving her role within PTAC to expand and enhance our training offerings across the state. The PTAC Counselor position at Economic Alliance Snohomish County is open until June 13. Jennifer Mitchell and the rest of the PTAC staff will be supporting clients in the northern Puget Sound area until the position is filled. https://www.economicalliancesc.org/about/career-opportunities/
Federal Size Standards proposed to increase – Public Comment is now being accepted (due June 27) on proposed size standard changes for 150 industries. A sample of industries impacted include Surgical appliance and supply manufacturing – increase from 750 to 800 employees (339113) and Environmental Remediation Services from 750 to 1000 (562910).
Notably, there is no proposed change to the 500 employee standard for non-manufacturers. SBA is seeking feedback on whether to change the methodology for such a size standard. Read an article on the proposed rule here.
Expect major SAM Delays to continue – For federal contractors needing to update or register in the System for Award Management, expect major delays of over 30 days. Most entity address validations are failing and need to be corrected by requesting a service ticket. The federal service desk help tickets are being processed in 10 days minimum and sometimes the fix doesn’t address the issue. Note your expiration date and plan accordingly to avoid contract delays. In many cases, agencies are unable to wait for a small business to get through the system.
New Affirmative Action Certification Requirement - June 30 is the deadline for certain federal contractors to certify compliance with Affirmative Action Programs. This applies to supply and service contractors and subcontractors with a contract of $50,000 or more and 50 or more employees. Contractors with contracts over $150,000 have additional certification requirements. The certification is required annually. Construction-only contractors are exempt. Read more here.
US VA Issues Guidance to Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) to get certified now – If you are a self-certified SDVOSB you will need to become certified in order to compete for set-aside opportunities. If you get certified now through the VA, your certification will transfer over on January 2023. If you are not certified by that date you will have a one-year grace period in which to get certified through the SBA. Based on recent experience with Women Owned Small Business Certification, PTAC recommends you plan on at least 6 months to get certified. Currently, VA is certified firms in under 30 days. Also, firms currently verified by the VA as SDVOSB and is expiring within 120 days before the transfer, re-certify prior to the transfer if you can. If you need any assistance, PTAC can help.
ASK PTAC we are now offering a quick question form for Washington businesses to send questions to PTAC counselors.
