1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |Unicor Banned From Competing In Small Business Set Asides For Services

Unicor Banned From Competing In Small Business Set Asides For Services

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 02.14.05

On February 3, 2005, in response to two protests filed by small business contractors challenging the award of a contract to UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries or "FPI") under a total small business set-aside procurement, the SBA determined that UNICOR is other than small under the applicable size standard. UNICOR contended that, irrespective of its size, "it is eligible to compete for this procurement because recent changes in the law [specifically, March 26, 2004, amendments to the FAR] now define small business set asides as including FPI," but the SBA held that those requirements are not mandatory if the solicitation involves "acquiring services," as opposed to purchasing items listed on FPI's schedule.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.23.26

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177....