FedSubK

Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) allows agencies that are downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments up to $25,000 as an incentive to voluntarily separate. The amount received is reduced by Fed and state taxes, social security, and Medicare, as applicable. Eligibility for VSIP requires an employee be employed by an Executive Branch agency for at least three (3) continous years without a time limit and not be-- ?? a reemployed annuitant; ?? otherwise be eligible for disability retirement; ?? recipient of a notice of involuntary separation for misconduct or poor performance; ?? recipient of any previous VSIP from the Federal Government; ?? on a service agreement for which-- ?? a student loan repayment benefit was paid, or is to be paid, during the 36-months preceding the date of separation; ?? a recruitment or relocation incentive was paid, or is to be paid, during the 24-months preceding the date of separation; and ?? a retention incentive was paid, or is to be paid, during the 12-months preceding the date of separation. If you receive a VSIP and later come back to Federal Service within 5 years of the date of the separation on which the VSIP is based, you must repay the entire amount before your first day of reemployment. This includes working under a personal services contract or other direct contract with the Government. The top 10 questions related to VSIP can be found at https://lnkd.in/gC_9XbzF OPM's page on VSIP is at https://lnkd.in/gX9yWvtv DISCLAIMER: Information is provided for situational awareness. I am not an HR professional but an HR enthusiast having been a Chief of Contracting and Federal supervisor. Please consult with an attorney knowledgeable in Federal employment law before making any decisions that impact your Federal employment status.

How do you pick between 20 perfect companies when law says you must choose only one? ?? The reality of 'merit-based' government contracting - still very blurry for me. Had a great talk with Shauna Weatherly, who spent 35+ years in federal contracting. If you're wondering what's really happening with all these new changes in government contracting, this one's for you. We discussed: - What happens when all companies score the same, but you can only pick one? - Why the recent government email got nicknamed 'ForkU' - A smart story about 'three hooks' that changes how you handle workplace chaos Plus, find out why Shauna believes current changes are nothing like the Clinton-Gore era reforms, despite what everyone's saying. https://lnkd.in/d5ubXv-b No buzzwords or fancy talk - just practical insights about where government contracting is heading.

For everyone excited about the so-called "middleman strategy" to get rich quickly in government contracting, a new decision by the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals is a bucket of cold water. In this case, SBA OHA held that a putative service-disabled veteran-owned small business was ineligible for a contract because it planned to subcontract all, or almost all, of the work to a non-SDVOSB. In this case, the VA awarded a contract to Atlantic First Industries Corporation ("AFIC") under a SDVOSB set-aside vehicle. A competitor filed a protest with the SBA, contending that AFIC would be unduly reliant upon a non-SDVOSB to perform the work in violation of the ostensible subcontractor affiliation rule (13 C.F.R. 121.103(h)(3)). SBA OHA agreed. After reviewing the documents associated with the acquisition, SBA OHA concluded "AFIC's proposal did not identify any tasks or functions that AFIC will self perform, or any AFIC employees that will be involved in contract performance." Instead, AFIC proposed to "delegate the primary and vital requirements of this contract to its non-SDVOSB subcontractor." While AFIC proposed to manage the contract, "in a procurement that is predominantly for services, a prime contractor does not perform the primary and vital requirements of a contract merely by supervising its subcontractors in their performance of work." SBA OHA sustained the protest and held that AFIC was ineligible for the VA SDVOSB set-aside contract. Not all middleman strategy advocates are the same, but I've seen some suggesting that as long as the small business (or, in this case, the SDVOSB) manages the contract, everything is hunky-dory. Clearly, that's not the case. This SBA OHA decision is a reminder that government contractors should be careful about building their business strategies around "middlemanning" concepts promoted by those looking to sell a get-rich-quick solution.

"To determine if your business qualifies?as 'small' for government contracting purposes, use SBA’s?Size Standards Tool." That's the advice government contractors receive from the SBA's "basic requirements" website for small businesses interested in federal contracting. Unfortunately, it's wrong. Or at best, incomplete. The Size Standards Tool essentially gives false positives by omitting any reference to affiliation--that is, the requirement that a company's small business size status include the receipts or employee counts of companies under common control. In my experience, affiliation is by far the most common reason why companies incorrectly self-certify as small. By way of example, let's say I'm an IT programming company, so I go to the Size Standards Tool and plug NAICS code 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services). The tool then asks for my company's five-year average annual receipts. (This, by the way, is another area where the Size Standards Tool could be upgraded, as you have to do this calculation yourself, outside the tool. You'd think the tool could easily be upgraded to allow you to simply copy the information from each year's tax return into the tool). So far, so good. I enter $10 million when I'm asked for my average annual receipts. The Size Standards Tool then tells me that the small business size standard for NAICS code 541511 is $34 million and, under the heading "Are you a small business eligible for government contracting?" gives me a green check box and the response, "YES." Woohoo! To the eternal embarassment of my children, I do my happy dance, then I go to SAM and self-certify as a small business, not worrying about the small fact that my $10 million company is 100% owned by Google. After all, the Size Standards Tool never asked! Then, taking advantage of Google's $350 billion in annual revenue, I set out to absolutely crush my competition in small business set-asides. This, of course, is a blatant example. Any 100% Google subsidiary ought to know it's not a small business. That's just common sense. But the SBA's affiliation rules are complex, and sometimes well-meaning small businesses simply don't realize that something like a familial relationship, common management, economic dependence, or the so-called "newly organized concern" rule can create an affiliation that affects their small business size. And, if they rely on the Size Standards Tool, they may self-certify without ever becoming aware of these important concepts, because the tool acts like they don't exist.

With so much uncertainty around their employment status these days, some federal employees may be considering resigning rather than waiting to be told they've been terminated. But that may not be the best route. Shauna W., president and founder of FedSubK, joined the Federal Drive with Thomas Temin to discuss why. #ReductionInForce #TheFederalDriveWithTomTemin

10 of the largest #GovCon consulting firms are coming under scrutiny for their "non-essential" contracts. Accenture Federal Services Booz Allen Hamilton CGI Deloitte IBM General Dynamics Information Technology Leidos HII Guidehouse SAIC My story and reaction from former GSA and contracting experts.

Check out our mention again in this week's The GovCon Grove from OrangeSlices AI.

The City of Oklahoma City will use a new bidding platform beginning FEBRUARY 13.

My employment lawyer FAQs re terminating federal employee, and what to do if you are asked to do something that you believe violates the law: ??It is still illegal to break the law. The law is still the law, and also, federal employees take an extra oath to faithfully execute their duties.?You can be held personally accountable if you violate the law, including criminally and/or with civil fines. Following an order is not a defense. ??It is illegal to fire probationary employees for ANY reason other than performance or misconduct, including to downsize. The law could be changed by Congress, or by changing the Code of Federal Regulations, but until that happens the law remains ??It is illegal for federal employees to in falsify, lie in, or make misrepresentations in federal documents, or to cover up the same. It is illegal to make use of any document that you know contains false information. ?? Some terminations may be legal, some may not be. You have good reason to suspect that decisions to fire probationary employees en masse are not actually due to performance or misconduct, even if that is the alleged reason given. You can ask for the reasons/evidence, you need this to do your step in the termination. If there is evidence, you will get it. Trust your gut.?You can say you can’t do it because you believe the law doesn’t allow it. Err on the side of taking all steps to faithfully execute your duties, and ensure that you don’t take part in violating the law. You can document your concerns & objections in writing.? ??You can raise questions and/or report concerns to management, general counsel, ethics office, OSC, OIG, and Congress. It is illegal to retaliate against you for reporting anything you reasonably believe is a violation of a law, rule, or regulation. ????It is illegal to retaliate against you for refusing to do anything you reasonably believe would require you to violate a law, rule, or regulation. If you are retaliated against, you have legal recourse. If you break the law, not so much. Following orders is not a defense. ?? You are allowed to consult with an outside attorney. Attorneys are required to keep the fact that you contacted them and what you talked about strictly confidential. You can find my prior FAQs here on my LinkedIn page. Follow me for more updates. For questions about how your specific situation, please reach out to me directly here or at [email protected].

?? Save the Date! The NASA OSBP Learning Series will be here in less than two weeks! Our next session covers “Partnering with NASA: Doing Business with NASA Space Centers” on Wednesday, February 19th! ?? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e5MtmKqq