Whether you’re a new GSA Schedule contractor or have been selling to the federal government for years, it’s important for you to be aware of the regulations you must follow so you can remain GSA compliant. As laws and regulations often change in the government, we are constantly informing our clients of important policy changes and helping them understand how they affect their business. One of the most recent changes was the amendment to Section 889 Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) Rule.

GSA contractors have been getting a lot of emails over the last couple weeks. Between the updates to GSA eBuy and the Multiple Award Schedule consolidation, contractors have been flooded with new information that impacts their contract compliance and their typical contract actions. One of the more recent GSA updates is the change to the Mass Modification System which will now require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

After years in the making, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced in late June that it has awarded contracts to three major e-marketplace platform providers to support implementation efforts for the Commercial Platforms program and Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The chosen providers—Amazon Business, Fisher Scientific, and Overstock.com, Inc.—were selected for a three-year pilot program where GSA will test the use of commercial e-commerce portals for purchases below the Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) of $10,000. (Note: This is a different Micro-Purchase Threshold than the recent update regarding the COVID-19 response that we discussed in an earlier blog.) What does this mean for GSA contractors in the future? Let’s dive in to better understand GSA’s upcoming E-Marketplace Platform.

COVID-19 has hit the global economy in strange ways. The obvious economic impacts include unemployment levels and problems with the stock market, but a surprising effect has been how common it is to now consider the prices of toilet paper and face masks — prices that were definitely not on the forefront of Americans’ minds before this crisis. It’s important to recognize the economic effects that the Coronavirus has had on items like N95 masks, KN95 masks, and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Let’s discuss a breakdown of PPE pricing in the COVID-19 era.

In what has become an unprecedented time for companies and their employees, adjusting to a “new normal” of working away from the office has been challenging for many as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As companies begin to look ahead and plan for a return to some normalcy, continuing to practice safe social distancing measures in the workplace will be key to providing a safe and efficient workplace environment. This includes continuing to keep a 6-foot space between individuals and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks. Differentiating between the types of masks and the protection they provide is important for companies to know before bringing employees back into the office.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to change. The standard email greeting has been converted from “Hope you had a great weekend!” to “Hope you are staying safe and healthy in this uncertain time.” Employers and employees alike have been forced to live in the new normal of working from home as much as humanly possible. At some point, however, this will all have to end, and people will file back into offices and “normal” workplaces. But that doesn’t mean that offices will look the same. With COVID-19 in mind, it’s important to recognize how to best protect your employees when reopening your offices across the country.