Last month, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that there are some major changes coming to several of their Schedule solicitations.

GSA eBuy helps streamline the RFQ process for Federal Buyers. Read to see what that means for Government Contractors! Once awarded a GSA Schedule, you’ll have access to a number of tools that will allow you to see specific agency needs. One of the most exclusive tools for GSA Schedule holders is GSA’s e-Business novelties website called eBuy. EBuy is an electronic Request for Quote (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) system, designed to allow government buyers to request information, find sources, and prepare RFQs and RFPs for millions of services and products offered through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). Government buyers can use eBuy to obtain quotes or proposals for services, large quantity purchases, big ticket items and purchases with complex requirements. Government contractors who do not have a GSA Schedule won’t have access to eBuy and are unable to see or respond to the opportunities posted there.

One of the trickiest areas of compliance for federal government contractors is following the regulations of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) of 1965, for services that are non-professional in nature. FAR Subpart 22.10 was recently updated to call this regulation the Service Contract Labor Standards, however, in practice you will still hear it commonly referred to as the SCA. With this update contractors saw major changes to the wage determinations.The SCA of 1965 was amended to ensure that businesses who worked in the service industry observed minimum wage standards as well as safety and health standards, when doing business with the Federal Government, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands.