The Small Business Administration sets forth a labyrinth of regulations to regulate the inconsistencies across its various programs. The certifications such as women-owned small business, 8 (a) Business Development program, and Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business programs appear straightforward. Still, when we dive deeper, they reveal many subtle and significant differences. Such differences mandate that the set of rules that the SBA has already instituted fails to ensure compliance. This necessitates the need for a more tailored approach and the need for setting up new rules for socio-economic certification.
New Rules for Socio-economic Certification
The SBA has proposed new rules that aim to make the regulations for socio-economic programs like WOSB, SDVOSB, etc., straightforward. These efforts aim to streamline and simplify the process and relieve business owners of the burden of navigating complex regulations.
The new guidelines for the socio-economic certification laid by the SBA focus on consistency. The SBA’a new rule aims at aligning the regulations that govern the WOSB, 8 (a) and SDVOSB certification. With its efforts of harmonizing the rules, SBA aims to eliminate the discrepancies that have long been plaguing the contractors of small businesses and their legal teams. Significant changes in the rules for socio-economic certification are as follows.
Changes With Respect to Outside Employment
The most significant change in the proposed SBA rule is its alignment with outside employment regulations. Previously, women-owned small businesses had distinct rules that prohibited the women officer leading the organization from engaging in any type of outside employment that could hinder her power over the business. The new rule, however, aims to standardize this in line with the SDVOSB language. This states that the women employee should devote her full-time to the business during normal business hours. If she has to work for fewer hours, then it should be demonstrated that this work will not prevent her from her managerial rules. This rule actually makes it easy for businesses that operate under multiple certifications.
Notifications with Respect to Outside Employment
Apart from the outside employment rules, the new rules for socio-economic certification require qualifying women employees in the WOSB to notify the WOSB before engaging in outside employment. These notifications should also include a demonstration that states that such employment should not impede her control over the business. This new rule is the same as the provisions for the 8 (a) program but adds an additional layer of consistency for the certification.
Simplifying The Certification Process
The new rule for socio-economic certifications from the SBA attempts to simplify the WOSB certification process with the help of cross-program documentation support. Before the amendment of these rules, the businesses that seek the WOSB certification should prove their eligibility by submitting extensive documentation. The proposed new rule, however, suggests that the businesses that are certified under the SDVOSB or the 8 (a) programs can make use of this existing documentation to support their WOSB applications. It means that if a business is already a certified SDVOSB, it can leverage its status to streamline the WOSB certification process as well. This helps to reduce redundancy and also helps in speeding up the certification process.
More Opportunities for Small Businesses
The SBA’s new rules open up new opportunities for small businesses that qualify for social and economic certifications. By aligning the requirements for certifications, businesses can easily qualify for multiple programs, thus expanding their reach for federal contracts. This is very beneficial for small businesses that fit into more than one socio-economic category. It also opens up new opportunities for set-aside contracts. As the SBA has streamlined its rules, it aims to reduce the risk of non-compliance but also saves time from misunderstanding the program-specific requirements. As the new rules aim to infuse consistency in the business process, businesses can now focus on their operations and not on navigating the bureaucratic hurdles.
Navigating the SBA’s new rules for social-economic certifications is complex. Still, with MySetAside, businesses can expedite the certification process and meet all requirements efficiently to position themselves in an efficient position to secure federal contracts.