$750,000, her adjusted gross yearly
income averaged over the three
years preceding the certification
does not exceed $350,000, and her
assets—including her primary residence and the value of the business
concern—does not exceed $6 million. Documentation demonstrating
these requirements must be available
upon request. Since the EDWOSB
is by definition also a WOSB, an
EDWOSB can submit an offer and
receive a WOSB contract as well as
EDWOSB contract.
T
he solicitation or invitation
must be assigned to one of
the NAICS codes the SBA has
designated as an underrepresented
or substantially underrepresented
by WOSBs or EDWOSBs. The
anticipated award price may not
exceed $5 million for manufacturing
contracts and $3 million for all other
contracts. Finally, the contracting officer must reasonably expect that at
least two WOSBs/EDWOSBs will
submit offers that meet the quantity,
quality, and delivery requirements of
the project and that the contract can
be awarded for a fair and reasonable
price.
Smell a rotten apple? Does that
WOSB appear to have an artificial
female principal? Or does that
small business seem a bit too large?
There are options. An individual
or company ma y file a written protest regarding ownership with the
Government Contracting Office
at SBA headquarters and/or file a
protest regarding size with the Size
Specialist.
Any other “interested party”—
including the contracting officer or
the SBA—may also file a protest.
If the SBA concurs with the content of the protest, the guilty party
must remove its designation in
SAM and will not be allowed to
participate again until its ineligibility is cured.
Resources for WOSBs/EDWOSBs
The SBA WOSB/EDWOSB web portal:
http://www.sba.gov/content/contracting-opportunities-women-ownedsmall-businesses
SBA Answer Desk
1-800-U-ASK-SBA (800) 827-5722)
Answer Desk TTY: (704) 344-6640
Email: [email protected]
Certifying Organizations:
El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
http://www.ephcc.org/
(915) 566-4066
National Women Business Owners Corporation
http://www.nwboc.org/
(800) 675-5066
U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce
http://www.uswcc.org/
(888) 418-7922
Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
http://www.wbenc.org/
(202) 872-5515
The SBA may also conduct an
“eligibility examination” at any time
after a WOSB/EDWOSB certifies
via SAM. The SBA’s decision to
conduct the formal examination may
be based on a protest or information provided by a third party. If the
SBA determines that the business
does not qualify as a WOSB/EDWOSB, the business must remove
its WOSB/EDWOSB designation
in SAM and may not apply again
until a new examination verifies
eligibility.
The punishment may not end
there. If a company intentionally or
negligently misrepresents its status as
a WOSB/EDWOSB, criminal, civil
and/or administrative sanctions may
be imposed; including fines of up to
$500,000, imprisonment of up to 10
years, or both; civil penalties under
the False Claims Act; double damages under the Program Fraud Civil
Remedies Act; as well as suspension
and/or debarment from all Federal
procurement and non-procurement
transactions.
The government’s goal to award
5 percent of its prime and subcontract dollars to WOSBs/EDWOSBs
provides women an oppor tunity
to continue the trend of successful
female leadership. Following the
requirements of qualification
and participation, WOSBs/EDWOSBs can demonstrate they
are not bottom feeders but topnotch leaders that are changing
the course of government contracting.
◆
Sarah E. Carson, Of Counsel with
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP, provides services and solutions for historically underrepresented businesses in the
construction and government contracts
industry. Representing general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers,
Sarah assists her clients’ businesses by
reducing risk and increasing profits.
MBE
May/June 2013
47