Emily Reid, a lawyer with PilieroMazza, joined me to discuss the new direction of the 8(a) program. SBA has redefined social disadvantage for individual applicants, and companies are applying and resubmitting their prior applications under the new standard. Emily went through what SBA is looking for now, plus how companies can get their applications on a fast track. Before PilieroMazza, Emily worked at the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, so she also knows what firms need to do if they get rejected from 8(a) and want to appeal.
Links
MySBA Certifications https://certifications.sba.gov
8(a) Social Disadvantage Regulation FAQ https://certifications.sba.gov/faq/8_a_Social_Disadvantage_Guidance_8-28-2026.pdf
FAQ II: 8(a) Applicants in Defense-Critical Industries and Next Steps for Pending Individually-Owned 8(a) Applications https://certifications.sba.gov/faq/8_a_Social_Disadvantage_Regulation_Change_FAQ_Volume_Two.pdf
8(a) Potential for Success Requirement FAQ https://certifications.sba.gov/faq/8_a_Potential_For_Success_FAQ.pdf
Ultima Services Corporation v. U.S. Department of Agriculture et al, 2:2020cv00041 (E.D. Tenn. 2026) https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/tennessee/tnedce/2:2020cv00041/93612/140/
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:48 Why SBA Paused 8(a) Applications
3:08 What the New Social Disadvantage Rule Requires
4:34 What Evidence SBA Will Accept
7:21 What the Application Form Asks For
8:55 Beyond Ultima: Other Policies That Qualify
12:14 Pending Applications and the 45-Day Deadline
14:15 The Two Certifications and the Risk of Getting Them Wrong
16:57 Finding the Documents, and Why Not to Rely on AI
19:20 Potential for Success: SBA Cuts Back on Waivers
21:14 Defense-Critical Industries and Fast-Track Review
23:12 How the Ultima Case Ended
25:06 Two Systems: SBA and the Department of Transportation
27:46 How to Appeal a Denial to OHA
28:56 Should You Apply? Benefits and Compliance Costs
31:47 What Happened After the Data Call
34:04 Where to Find Emily Reid
Transcript
Introduction
Sam: For so long, we’ve been in a holding pattern on the 8(a) program. There was the Ultima case in 2023, and SBA paused applications then. Then, when the Trump administration came in, SBA rethought its approach to social disadvantage and paused applications once again. Then all of a sudden, there’s been a flurry of activity in the program. The Ultima case is finally over, and SBA has started to accept applications under the new social disadvantage standard. With us today is Emily Reid. She’s a lawyer at PilieroMazza, which works closely with companies on the 8(a) program. Emily and I know each other from our time at SBA. Emily, welcome to the program.
Emily: Thanks. I’m so happy to be here.
Why SBA Paused 8(a) Applications
Sam: Thanks so much for coming. First item I want to go over is the pause. There’s actually been a couple of pauses. There was a pause when I was there at SBA, when the court in Tennessee initially issued its interim decision in the Ultima case. And then there was another pause that came while SBA was rethinking its social disadvantage standard. What happened during that pause? What was SBA doing? Why did they end up pausing applications for so long?
Emily: Sure. So with the start of the new administration, the SBA and also the Department of War started looking more closely at the 8(a) program, and they became concerned about fraud, waste, and abuse in the program, in addition to these ongoing court cases like the Ultima case that led to the SBA having to stop using the rebuttable presumption. And so SBA during this time period was considering what to do with the current rules. Even though SBA had to start using social disadvantage narratives because they could no longer use the rebuttable presumption, the regulations still had the rebuttable presumption language. SBA had to figure out what they were going to do with rewriting the regulations to be consistent with the court order and the Ultima decision and some other decisions that came out later.
So during this time period, firms were applying to the 8(a) program, but they really were not hearing anything. Their applications were just sitting. And then, as I mentioned before, at the end of 2025, that’s when SBA announced their data call and asked current 8(a) firms to submit financial and business information, because the SBA was concerned about fraud, waste, and abuse in the program. And there were a few other things going on, of course, with DOGE and, I think, almost a third of the employees at the SBA leaving. So that was another reason why they were not processing these applications, then dealing with the data call and also just rewriting the regulation. So that brought us to July of this year, when SBA issued their proposed rule. And then 30 days later, the final rule came out.
What the New Social Disadvantage Rule Requires
Sam: And what does that final rule say? This is the one on social disadvantage. The 8(a) program has social disadvantage, economic disadvantage, potential for success. But the big issue over the past few years has been this concept of social disadvantage. Where did they end up?
Emily: So this is a big change, because under the new rule, you no longer have to provide a personal social disadvantage narrative in order to prove that you are socially disadvantaged and eligible for the 8(a) program. Instead, now an applicant needs to provide evidence of a governmental or private-entity policy, rule, action, or regulation that basically preferenced one group over another group. And so, for example, that could be a set-aside or a DEI policy or a hiring quota, or anything that’s connected to race, ethnicity, or gender that may have preferenced one group over another group. And with a new application, you need to provide what the SBA calls objective evidence of what happened to this group.
And then you must also certify that you are a part of that group and that this discrimination was going on during your lifetime. And then second, that you suffered material harm as a result of this private-entity or governmental policy, regulation, rule, action, et cetera.
What Evidence SBA Will Accept
Sam: What do you think this evidence looks like? One thing with the personal narrative is it’s hard for SBA, under the personal narrative standard, to go in and say, “Oh, this didn’t actually happen to you,” because it’s really just facts that are in your mind, in your own experience. Now, if you’re moving to this new standard with documentary evidence, that is something that can be checked and verified properly. What is SBA looking for there? And then what have you seen people using as documentary evidence for their new application, or for the companies that are doing resubmission?
Emily: So right now, I think everyone in the community and the applicants who are interested in becoming participants, they’re all basically trying to figure it out, because we are in a process now where if you submitted an application previously, you are now being required to submit updated information. And the same thing for new applicants: they have to submit a new application under the same criteria. And so the SBA, after the rule came out in August, recently released new guidance where they specifically said a social disadvantage narrative is no longer required or desired.
So they provided some examples of things you could provide, and those include court cases and DOJ settlements. It could be a policy statement. So, for example, if your company had any DEI program, you could provide a document proving they had this program. But what I thought was really interesting in the guidance is they provided some specific examples. And one example is citing to the Ultima decision. So if you are a person like a white American man or woman, for example, you are not able to take advantage of one of the presumptions that we previously had for the five groups.
So if you’re not part of one of those groups, you could cite to the Ultima decision and say that during my lifetime, before 2023, I was not eligible to use that presumption to enter the 8(a) program, and therefore I suffered material harm. And what is really interesting is that the SBA specifically said you do not have to have applied for the 8(a) program and have been rejected from the 8(a) program. It is enough that you were just dissuaded from applying.
Sam: Oh, interesting.
Emily: So I think that really opens the door to a lot of people being eligible for the 8(a) program now.
Sam: And you do have to have been alive during the policy. So if you’re looking back a century or so, that might be a little harder. But Ultima was just 2023. So that’s going to cover a lot of people.
What the Application Form Asks For
Sam: Now, you’ve looked at the form that SBA has put out there, both for the new applications and the resubmissions. Is there anything companies need to know as they’re preparing to enter information in that form?
Emily: Yes. So the form is on the My Certifications website. And the first thing you need to do is provide a 500-character summary of the evidence you’re providing. And 500 characters is about, I would say, a paragraph to two paragraphs. And that summary shouldn’t necessarily be based on your personal experience. So if the example you’re using is the Ultima decision, you could explain what happened in the Ultima decision and how that was a policy that discriminated against your specific group. Or, for example, if you worked at a company that had a certain DEI policy, you could explain what that policy was, a policy that supported Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month or something like that.
And so you have to provide that 500-character summary. And at the end of the application, you’re supposed to upload evidence, I believe. So I assume it would just be a PDF of that evidence. Maybe you could upload a PDF of a congressional report that showed that your certain group experienced discrimination, harm, or bias. And then after you provide that information, you have to provide two certifications. And it’s just a simple yes or no answer. So you certify, yes, I was alive when this discrimination happened. And yes, I experienced material harm.
Beyond Ultima: Other Policies That Qualify
Sam: Okay, so that’s fairly straightforward. That actually could be a lot less work time as compared to the narrative process. And especially if SBA were to question your narrative, that back and forth, which we used to see in the period right after Ultima, where everybody was going in with their narratives and SBA is reviewing every single company, there was some back and forth with SBA. And this seems like this would cut down on that.
Emily: Yes. I think that is the SBA’s intent. That’s what they talked about in the proposed rule, and the final rule is to have a race-neutral 8(a) program, to have it open to everyone as long as they meet the requirements for the program. I will say, as I have been thinking about this and researching this and working with clients, I don’t think it’s so clear-cut, depending on what group you are in. Like I said, it would be really easy if you can use the Ultima example. But if you can’t use the Ultima example, you will have to do a little bit more digging to find something that was a policy during your lifetime where you were discriminated against.
And so, going back, the SBA did provide a few other examples. So, for example, you could use the ADA. The ADA was passed in 1990. So the Americans with Disabilities Act, right? And so if you had a disability, or you have a disability, but you were born before 1990, you could use that as an example. Also, in the final rule, they provided an example of an act that was passed in 1974. So prior to 1974, there was not a federal law prohibiting banks from discriminating against women. Some banks would not allow women to take out credit cards in their own names. So SBA used that as an example. But you would have to have been born before 1974.
Sam: So millennials like me are probably not eligible.
Emily: Yeah. And then also, as I’ve done some research, something I wanted to note too is that this administration has removed a lot of DEI, or what they also call gender ideology, a lot of information from federal websites, like one report said up to 8,000 pages of information. So when I started doing research, I would find some articles from different news sources from 10 years ago, five years ago, and I would click on the link to find that study on the federal government website, and I saw that it was taken down. And then I did some more investigation. Depending on your unique circumstance, it may take some time to research a policy that will fit you and fit the criteria to enter the 8(a) program.
And I think a lot of the information might take some more digging. You may have to have access, like a lawyer, to Westlaw or Lexis to find some of these congressional reports or other reports that were previously on federal websites.
Sam: That’s true. You may have actually suffered from a discriminatory policy, but that policy was on a website that’s no longer there and it’s difficult to find, or you may have to actually go to the library and find something to get it. I don’t think if you went back to your former employer that discriminated against you and asked, “Oh, can you give me this discriminatory policy?” that they’d be very open to helping you with your 8(a) application.
Pending Applications and the 45-Day Deadline
Sam: Now, what about the firms that applied during this pause period, which started about August of 2025? SBA was working through this, coming out with the proposed rule and coming up with the final rule. What is SBA asking from those firms, especially the individual-owned firms that had their applications in the queue?
Emily: So SBA is sending notices to those firms asking them to submit additional information within 45 days. So specifically, they have to provide information to meet this new social disadvantage test. In addition, they are being invited to provide financial and business information to verify that they are eligible for the program. So that may include the past two years of business tax returns, three years of personal tax returns, also financial information like balance sheets and profit and loss statements. And then any business information that may have changed since the time you applied. So if you amended your operating agreement, or you added a new owner, or you changed how the company was being managed, all of that information you will need to resubmit.
And you only have 45 days to do it. And for many companies, the deadline is coming up in the next week. And the SBA has also said if you don’t meet that deadline, then your application will be closed. So it’s very important to pay attention and get your resubmission information ready.
Sam: So it’s more than just the social disadvantage. You have to refresh other items that have come up. So if you’ve amended your documentation, your corporate documentation, and then tax returns, all that. So it gets into all the elements of 8(a) eligibility. We will be publishing this next week, so it’ll come out just before people have to resubmit. So if there are any last-minute items that they need, they may be able to refer to this to get some guidance on it.
The Two Certifications and the Risk of Getting Them Wrong
Sam: On the self-certification, you mentioned there’s a couple of yes-or-no questions. Tell us more about what those questions are. And then, if you’re answering yes to them, presuming that’s supposed to be the answer that SBA is looking for, what should you be worried about potentially in the future if that were found out to be incorrect?
Emily: So, well, first you have to certify that you were alive during the time period that the policy occurred and you were a part of that group. So that would be very easy to establish, I presume. But the second one is the material harm. So it’s just a simple yes-or-no self-certification that you experienced material harm. And how the SBA defines it, material harm is that you had denied economic opportunities. But looking also at what the SBA has in their most recent guidance, in that example I provided, just being dissuaded from applying for a program can be enough, the SBA says, to meet this definition of material harm.
So in that scenario, there’s no way, I think, that you could really prove, “I didn’t apply for the 8(a) program, and so I missed out on X number of contracts and X number of dollars.” I think that would be hard to come back and explain to the SBA. So this is kind of an unknown question. As far as I can tell from reading the rule, the only evidence that you need to provide at this time is just that objective evidence about the group. And you’re making this self-certification to the government. So you want to self-certify that this is correct. And of course, it’s always possible that we could have another 8(a) audit and the SBA may ask for this information in the future.
But when I think about this in totality, I don’t know in the future what someone who gets into the program under the Ultima decision as their point of reference is going to provide as their material harm. I suppose they could just write a narrative saying, “I thought there were so many contracts at this time period, I could have made this much money.”
Sam: And you just go back to doing a personal narrative again. The fear is that SBA would come back and ask everyone in an audit scenario for an explanation of their material harm. But as you said, if the standard is “I was just dissuaded,” that seems like it’s just really another statement, yes or no: were you dissuaded from applying? At least under the Ultima one, and probably similar analysis for any other sort of discriminatory practice as well.
Finding the Documents, and Why Not to Rely on AI
Sam: Now, in terms of finding this documentation, this objective documentation, what are some tips for companies as they’re trying to look for something that either is the case that SBA refers to or other sources of discriminatory practices?
Emily: Well, I will say, don’t necessarily use AI.
Sam: Is that right?
Emily: I mean, at least of what clients have sent me, and I’ve tried to test it out in every different scenario, like, “I am a Black woman. What should I say?” “I’m a Latino man.” It’s not really bringing me to what I think the SBA will accept, because I’ve tried different AI models and I think they are still confused, because they’re still referencing back to the old social disadvantage narrative, or they will provide the SBA guidance and all the blogs that all the law firms have written, of course. But they struggle to find a really good study because, like I said, a lot of them have been taken off of websites. So I think one thing you can do, and one thing I have found, is that a lot of state and local governments still have information on their websites.
So right now the city of Atlanta has information on its website saying that historically in the city of Atlanta, Black people and Latino people have had fewer opportunities for government contracts. And so you may be able to find a great example if you were a person who lives in Atlanta and you work in the government contracting world. I would use that as an example. So you may want to search for things that are more local to you. I think court cases are really good, too. But it can be challenging if you’re not an attorney to know how to research case law. You may need access to a legal research database to do that.
I also think the congressional reports are good, and those are easier to find. And so if you find some of those, any sort of congressional studies that have said, at some point during your lifetime, a group that you were a part of experienced discrimination, harm, or bias, those are also good examples.
Sam: Well, Emily, I transcribed this and put it on the web. So I think AI will be looking at our conversation. Maybe that will correct them on trying to look for something on the social disadvantage narrative. Now it’s this more objective documentation plus the two questions.
Potential for Success: SBA Cuts Back on Waivers
Sam: Switching gears, the 8(a) program has generally four, maybe you’d say five, requirements. It’s social disadvantage, economic disadvantage, good character, potential for success, and then the fifth would be you have to be a small business as well. At the same time that SBA published its social disadvantage guidance, it also published new guidance on the potential for success. And that’s not related to a rule, or to a rulemaking, or to a court case. What is SBA saying now about potential for success? What’s that new guidance?
Emily: Well, so the SBA said that during the previous administration, during the Biden administration, there were a lot of waivers to the rule to require potential for success. So because SBA is concerned about that, and they think that this has led to many 8(a) companies not being successful or not being able to compete in the marketplace, now they are enforcing the potential for success rule, which requires you to provide information to show that you have performed contracts in your primary NAICS code over the past two years, in addition to other business and financial information. And if you cannot provide that information, you can request a waiver, and there are, I believe, five different categories for that waiver requirement, and you would have to meet all of them.
But what SBA is saying specifically in their new guidance is that they really don’t want to issue any of these waivers if they don’t have to. And they really want companies to be able to show a track record of success in government contracting before entering the 8(a) program.
Sam: And that’s fairly straightforward. It’s just a two-year period before your application, and otherwise you need to get this waiver. And it sounds like this guidance is saying that they’re cutting back on those waivers.
Defense-Critical Industries and Fast-Track Review
Sam: I mean, on the other side of it, though, SBA is looking to encourage companies in certain defense-critical industries to apply and receive admission into the 8(a) program: defense-critical NAICS codes. It looks like there are about 10, 12 defense-critical NAICS codes that SBA listed out, and those companies get some sort of preferential treatment. What is SBA’s guidance on these defense-critical industries?
Emily: Sure. So recently in August, the Department of War and SBA created a partnership known as the Smaller War Plants Commission, and it is specifically to encourage small businesses to produce different machinery, weapons, components, and parts to weapons or other things that are used by the Department of Defense. And so in connection with that, SBA is now saying that they will fast track 8(a) applications for 8(a) firms that will perform work in those specific NAICS codes. And those include small arms ammunition manufacturing, shipbuilding and repairing. And the idea of fast track, I think, is new in the world of 8(a) contracting. So I just assume that that means that SBA is going to put those applications to the top of the pile, and they’re going to analyze those applications first.
Sam: And that could be really powerful for companies that might be in those codes. One of them is machine shops, 332710. I could theoretically see a small business in that NAICS code wanting to get into the 8(a) program. And then once you get in, you have this opportunity to get sole-source contracts below the competitive threshold. So that’s really a win-win for the company and for the federal government if they’re looking for companies that are in those NAICS codes.
How the Ultima Case Ended
Sam: Ultima consumed a lot of our attention over the past few years, this Ultima versus USDA case. The case is over now and actually ended with not all that much fanfare. There was some concern that the judge would strike down the whole program. The company, Ultima Services, had asked for additional relief. What happened toward the end of that case? And is there anything to pay attention to in the final decision that came out?
Emily: So it’s my understanding the final decision basically upheld what we learned from the injunction, right? So we can’t use the rebuttable presumption anymore, but it didn’t determine that the entire 8(a) program was unconstitutional. So I think this new rule is still in line with the Ultima 8(a) decision. I would also note that in the final rule, SBA brings up a few other Supreme Court cases that informed how they wrote this new rule, including the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. And in that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the way that both Harvard and the University of North Carolina system conducted their admissions was a violation of Equal Protection, because it preferenced certain groups over other groups.
And in that case, it was a group of Asian students who argued that the university preferenced other racial groups ahead of them. And so SBA also points to that in their final rule to support their rulemaking. And that’s another example that they used that you could use as your evidence. So if you didn’t get into a university, or you thought about applying and didn’t get in, using that same Ultima example, you could also point to that Supreme Court case.
Two Systems: SBA and the Department of Transportation
Sam: What’s interesting is, as SBA is moving away from the social disadvantage narrative, there’s another agency, the Department of Transportation, that still has social disadvantage narratives, and they just finalized their rule. So you have two separate schemes going on, one with SBA with the more objective documentation, and then the other one with DOT, which has all these certifiers across all the many states and territories that are continuing to receive social disadvantage narratives. So the narrative process is not gone, but perhaps it could be informed by what you just said with Students for Fair Admissions and the end of this Ultima case.
So where do you think this all ends up? I mean, the idea was to allow companies kind of like Ultima Services into the 8(a) program, companies that don’t fall in one of the presumption categories, and also probably to cut down on the amount of work that companies have to do with the narrative, and the work on the SBA side reading those narratives. Do you think the program’s going to get larger, get smaller? Where do you think this ends?
Emily: That’s a good question. I think in the short term, it may not get larger, as everyone is still figuring out really what the rule says and what to do next. But based on my reading of the rule, it completely opens the door, and SBA is calling this a race-neutral program. And so if you can find the right evidence to support your case and you can certify that you were materially harmed, I think it really opens the door for a lot of different people that may have never thought to apply for the 8(a) program in the past. At the same time, I think SBA is also signaling with the fast track for those certain NAICS codes that they’re not trying to shut the doors on the 8(a) program.
Maybe the 8(a) program could be used for something else. And of course, just in the world of government contracting, the 8(a) program is so powerful with the opportunity for sole source. And then, of course, with larger businesses and mentor-protégé agreements, joint venturing with 8(a) firms. A lot of larger businesses still want to work with 8(a) firms. So I think right now everyone’s just trying to figure out what to do next. There’s limited guidance from the SBA, and I think we’re going to have to wait the next few months to see what happens with these applications, because once we start getting the applications, and if there are denials, people have the opportunity to appeal them to the Office of Hearings and Appeals at SBA.
So then we may have the opportunity to start seeing what pieces of evidence other people were using and what was getting denied. And so that may also be informative as well.
How to Appeal a Denial to OHA
Sam: Tell me about that. You used to be a clerk there at the Office of Hearings and Appeals. What would you be looking for from OHA as these cases potentially come through? And then if you are denied as a company, what do you have to do to take advantage of the OHA appeal?
Emily: Sure. So if you are denied, you have to draft an appeal and submit it to SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. And this is an office with administrative judges who review cases involving the 8(a) regulations. And so SBA will look at your case. I believe they also get the record from the SBA of what you submitted. And then an attorney at the SBA is supposed to represent the SBA and represent the SBA’s position. And so that’s where we really find out what other people are doing with their 8(a) applications. And so it would be up to a judge at the SBA to look at your application, look at what’s in the rule, and then say whether or not SBA properly applied their own rule in evaluating your application.
Should You Apply? Benefits and Compliance Costs
Sam: And going back to your point about the defense-critical industries, I think that is a very important signal. This is not the sledgehammer to the 8(a) program entirely. SBA still seems to find the program valuable for this purpose, for defense-critical industries, for the purpose of expanding the definition of social disadvantage. So it seems like there’s still value in the 8(a) program in SBA’s eyes. It’s just a matter of, as you said, with cuts in staff, are they going to be able to get through these resubmissions and applications? Are things going to flow again? But it does seem like, okay, if you apply to the 8(a) program, there’s a good chance that SBA is eventually going to get your application.
It’s just a matter of time, and there are going to be contracts that are available. So it’s not as big of a shift as we thought it might be when the DOW video came out and this fraud investigation and the data call. And just on that point, do you have any insight on the business reasons for looking at the 8(a) program right now, for people that are on the outside looking in and considering whether to apply? What factors do they take into account on whether to hit submit on that application?
Emily: Well, I guess it depends. I think the 8(a) program is a powerful tool for businesses, but at the same time, there is a lot of compliance, like the annual review. And of course, you could always be subject to a data call or an audit like we just experienced. So I think it’s a powerful opportunity, but you really do have to be committed to being part of this program, where you’re going to send the federal government all this information about your company every single year and meet these different benchmarks. But if you do get into the program, like I said, there’s the opportunity for sole sources, of course the opportunity to be a part of a mentor-protégé arrangement to joint venture with larger companies.
And I think this also pairs nicely with what is happening right now with the proposed increase in size standards. So it is possible. We’re still going to see what happens in the next few months, but presumably if the size standards go up a little bit or a lot as proposed, that may be an opportunity for certain businesses, like even larger businesses, to get into the 8(a) program, as long as their qualifying owners meet all the economic requirements and the social disadvantage requirements and everything else as well.
Sam: Yeah, it’s tough to own a $500 million company and fall below those economic disadvantage thresholds, because assets is 6.5 [million] and then net worth, 850 [thousand]. It seems like you’d probably bust through those thresholds.
What Happened After the Data Call
Sam: You mentioned the data call. It was all hands on deck for the data call. Gosh, it’s been a while now. After that data call, January 2026, have you heard anything from SBA as to the results of the data call? Did they go through the documentation? Have you seen any investigation started on its basis?
Emily: Well, I’m not sure if the SBA, it seems like there’s been some positive PR posts online, but I’m not sure if there’s a summary of what necessarily happened with the data call. I know that SBA did report that somewhere between 800 and 1,000 companies left the 8(a) program, because many companies were suspended or terminated, and some of them chose to leave the program or early graduate just because they didn’t want to submit the documentation, for whatever reasons. But I will say, and I know for people at my law firm that worked on this and other lawyers in the community, many of us worked on many appeals to the Office of Hearings and Appeals regarding these suspensions.
And as far as I’ve seen with the cases published on the Office of Hearings and Appeals website and the cases I’ve worked on, it seems like a vast majority of 8(a) firms that appealed their terminations actually got back into the program, because the SBA, at least in many of the termination notices that I saw, the SBA did make mistakes, because it seemed that they were kind of copying and pasting over and over for many 8(a) firms and accusing many 8(a) firms of not following the 8(a) excessive withdrawal rules, but then not actually calculating the numbers properly based on the company’s tax status. So many companies were able to get back in the program, but they had to jump through a lot of hurdles of submitting this information, filing an appeal, working with the SBA to get back into the program.
Sam: Busy time for OHA, and probably good for you as somebody who knows OHA from the inside and knows how that body really operates, and timelines and all that.
Where to Find Emily Reid
Sam: Emily, how do people find you?
Emily: Sure. Well, I’m on LinkedIn. Also, you can reach out to me by email at ereid@pilieromazza.com.
Sam: Wonderful. Thanks so much for being on the show, Emily.
Emily: Of course. It was really fun. Thank you.
With over 20 years of Federal legal experience, Sam Le counsels small businesses through government contracting matters, including bid protests, contract compliance, small business certifications, and procurement disputes. Sam received his law degree from the University of Virginia and formerly served as SBA’s director of procurement policy. His website is www.samlelaw.com.
This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
