Federal Contractors to Be Limited on Criminal Background Checks

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Private employers with federal contracts will soon be prohibited from requesting criminal history information from candidates at the onset of the hiring process; instead, they will have to wait until after an offer is made.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Act) was discreetly tucked into the Defense Spending Bill approved on December 20, 2019. The Act is part of a growing national trend of “Ban the Box” laws, referring to the question on job applications asking whether a candidate has been convicted of a crime. Ban the Box laws largely have bipartisan support and, according to the National Employment Law Project, have been approved in 35 states and more than 150 cities across the United States.

As of March 31, 2017, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management already required most federal agencies to wait until the conditional offer stage of the hiring process to request criminal history information from a job candidate. The Act supersedes this regulation and applies the prohibition to both the federal government and now certain private employers.

Specifically, the Act prohibits private employers that contract with the federal government from requesting criminal history information, including arrests and convictions, from candidates for positions within the scope of the federal contracts until after the conditional offer stage.

A “conditional offer” means an offer that is conditioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry. The Act does not entirely prevent federal contractors from seeking criminal history information, nor does it impose specific standards or requirements on how the employer uses that information. It only delays the inquiry timing until after a conditional offer has been made.

The Act is crafted so that it only applies to prime contractors and to those employees performing work for the federal government on a federal contract. The language is specifically limited to those who “submit a bid for a contract” and those “receiving a Federal Contract and receiving payments” from the federal government on those contracts.

The Act is intended to be consistent with and not supersede or restrict the application of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, or other relevant federal civil rights laws. Penalties for violating the Act range from a written warning for the first violation up to suspending payment under the federal contract for subsequent violations.

Critical to the Act, and to most of the state and local Ban the Box laws, is that it includes exceptions to the law. This particular Act does not apply to positions involving access to classified information, law enforcement, or national security positions. Within 16 months of the enactment of the Act, the Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, must issue regulations identifying additional positions to which the prohibitions do not apply, giving consideration to positions involving interactions with minors, access to sensitive information, or managing financial transactions.

The decision to prohibit inquiries into criminal histories at any early stage of the hiring process is intended to help qualified workers with arrest or conviction records compete fairly for employment in federal agencies and with federal contractors. A study in 2019 conducted by Daniel Shoag of Case Western University and Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute found the policy of banning criminal history questions increased employment by 4% in the nation’s most criminalized neighborhoods (i.e., neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of people with records).

The Defense Spending Bill included two other laws which affect the federal government and its employees. The Defense Spending Bill included a 3.1% average federal pay raise increase for federal employees and a paid parental leave program for all federal workers. The program allows federal employees up to 12 weeks of paid time off for the birth, adoption, or foster care of a new child. The paid parental program will begin in October 2020.

The federal government joins several states including California, New Jersey, and New York, which already offer paid parental or sick leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers with 50 or more employees to offer employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to attend to their own or close family member’s serious health condition or for the birth or adoption of a child, among other things. The Defense Spending Bill’s paid parental leave program only covers leave for the care of a new baby after birth, adoption, or the start of foster care; it does not cover care for a sick relative or oneself.

The Act does not take effect until December 2021, two years from the date of enactment. Nonetheless, employers that contract with the federal government should consider revising their employment applications now to remove questions regarding a candidate’s criminal history. Federal contractors should also begin training management to not ask this question prior to a conditional offer of employment being made. For all other employers, check your state and/or local laws to see whether a Ban the Box law has been passed.

Author: Prasanna Haresh Patil

References: https://www.akerman.com/en/perspectives/hrdef-federal-contractors-to-be-limited-on-criminal-background-checks.html

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/federal-contractors-to-be-limited-on-59960/

Federal Contractors Should Rethink Criminal Background Checks

Core Value Focus: Teamwork

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 “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success.” – Henry Ford

There may be no “I” in team, but being part of a team can help you grow. “By sharing information and essentially cross training each other, each individual member of the team can flourish,” says John Murphy, a specialist in business transformation and author of Pulling Together: 10 Rules for High-Performance Teamwork. You might discover new concepts from colleagues with different experiences. You can also learn from someone else’s mistakes.

 Teamwork is the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient. At Sabre88 we strive to uphold a company culture of teamwork, selflessness and cooperation. Our back office hosts a modern open office layout, which is being adopted by many large companies in hopes of improving their teamwork. For us at the back office it allows for fluid communication and a friendly, open atmosphere. The practice of prioritizing teamwork resonates not just through the back office. Paul McVeigh, a member of the Sabre88 back office resonates this as he speaks on our office community.

“Our office community is a team. We are a collection of individuals who come together to achieve goals that help the business grow and thrive. To do this, we communicate effectively and efficiently through multiple avenues, making sure to keep everyone in the loop. Both professional and casual communication is encouraged, and this helps build relationships and ultimately strengthens the team. Our “Morning Huddle” is a great example of using communication to forge interpersonal bonds, as we take time each morning to discuss a topic brought by a different team member each day”.

Teamwork is a core value of Sabre88 because of the inherent understanding that strong teamwork raises productivity and happiness. There are many benefits to teamwork, for one, teamwork lowers stress and increases creativity, according to 61% of an interviewed population. When people with different perspectives come together in group brainstorms, innovative ideas rise to the surface with one caveat. Research shows this can only happen when communication within the team is open and collaborative. Sabre88 believes in establishing training and development support mechanisms that will enable the organization to succeed. Consequently, this means the implementation of innovative training measures that expand the knowledge base of all personnel that can address potential weaknesses, develop consistent performance metrics and create overall employee satisfaction.

When asked about Sabre88’s training methods Paul said, “I appreciate Sabre88’s training initiative. I rather enjoy the online trainings which are educational, interactive and mostly fun. They also offer certificates upon completion that can be kept and shown off! Personally, I enjoy going over opportunity scoring methods with my coworkers. We do it in such a way that we are consistently sharpening each other’s skills, helping the effectiveness of the team grow each meeting”. We can all find times within our daily regime at Sabre88 that we rely on the help of others, finding new methods to operate more successfully aligns with our core values and team mentality.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan

“Each individual has unique gifts, and talents and skills,” says Murphy, “When we bring them to the table and share them for a common purpose, it can give companies a real competitive advantage”. The consulting firm McKinsey & Company backs this up in a recent study. It found teams made up of members from diverse backgrounds are more creative and perform better by up to 35 percent, compared to more homogeneous teams. Research from Tufts University suggests that just being exposed to diversity can shift the way you think. A study on a diverse mock jury found that interacting with individuals who are different forces people to be more open minded, and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort.

With teamwork the dream is actualized as everyone needs to motivate themselves. At Sabre88 we have a culture of self-motivation, where each individual is encouraged to grow and develop in their own fashion.

Author: Bobby Cottingham

Sources:

The importance of teamwork (as proven by science)
Our new research on the benefits of Open work

Small Business Government Contracting in 2020

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It is officially the year 2020 and that means it is time to examine what the landscape looks like in the government contracting world as we head into a new year. Some trends will inevitably remain the same, while new trends and certain procedural and legislative changes may mean revisiting the old SWOT analysis for some small business government contractors. In an effort to highlight the major players affectively shaping government contracting in 2020, let’s break it down:

Technology

No surprise here, technology is continuing to force businesses to adapt as it evolves with overwhelming rapidity. We aren’t talking flying cars yet, but many groundbreaking technologies have effectively changed the way the world does business, i.e. the cloud, AI and machine learning, blockchain, etc. As small businesses hustle to stay current and weight the pros and cons of investing in the newest tech, it is important to note which capabilities the government is looking to require for contractors when making an award.

According Bloomberg Government (BGOV), cybersecurity will become essential for contractors and their subprimes competing for certain contracts and task orders. The Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) will set different levels of cybersecurity which must be met in order to be considered for various contracts. BGOV added that, “the CMMC program will create opportunities for firms to differentiate themselves based on their cyber defense postures and raise the demand for third-party assessment services”.

Legislation

The government is taking steps to help small businesses remain competitive in the federal marketplace. The Small Business Runway Extension Act (HR 6330) should become effective in 2020, which extends the calculation period for receipts-based size standards for small businesses from 3 years to 5 years.

Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019 (HR 5146) will potentially help small businesses break into new markets by allowing them to use past performance from which they served as subprimes.  

Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019 (HR 190) eliminates the inclusion of option years in the award price for certain sole source contracts (i.e., contracts awarded without a competitive process). Under current law, option years in the award price for such contracts limit their dollar award threshold.

Wrap-Up

As the technological and legal landscape shifts, small business government contractors must be responsive and adaptable. There are many changes that are encouraging for the future of small business government contracting, and it appears that there are many more to come. Staying current is half the battle!

Author: Paul McVeigh

Sources:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6330

https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/legislation

https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/cloud/2020/01/08/the-5-trends-likely-to-shape-federal-contracting-in-2020/

smallgovcon.com/statutes-and-regulations/smallgovcon-year-in-review-popular-posts-of-2019/#more-15524

federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2019/11/gsas-schedule-consolidation-what-you-need-to-know/

Passed in the House: Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019

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Image result for unlock

For small businesses hoping to unlock more opportunities to win prime contracts with federal agencies, there may be some good news from Washington. On January 8, 2020, a bill entitled, “H.R.5146 Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019,” passed the House of Representatives, and was read in the Senate the following day.

The purpose of the bill, provided on congress.gov, is as follows: “To amend the Small Business Act to require contracting officers to take a small business concern’s past performance as part of a joint venture into account when evaluating the small business concern, and for other purposes.”

H.R.5146, sponsored by Representative Jim Hagedorn [R-MN-1] and cosponsored by Representative Dwight Evans [D-PA-3], seeks to fix a growing issue concerning the small business government contracting industry. Currently, small business contractors experience a great deal of difficulty expanding their scope of work, since the government will not yet officially consider past performance relevant if the work was not performed as the prime contractor. The current landscape is such that small businesses are joining together more frequently to form stronger, more competitive entities for entering the federal marketplace seeking to win government contracts. This bill aims to catch up to the times, requiring work done within these joint ventures to be considered for future competitive contracts.

This bill is the latest in the increased effort by the U.S. government to help small businesses remain competitive in the government contracting market. Legislation in the Senate (S-3038) seeks to help though greater use of Small Business Association programs and reducing barriers, and the President has signed into law (P.L. 116-103), which standardizes the financial data which agencies will use in the award process.

It is encouraging to observe such legislature achieving success. The economy may be doing well and employment situation figures may be impressive, but it is important the note that when small businesses thrive, everybody wins.

Author: Paul McVeigh

Sources:

www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5146/text

www.fedweek.com/federal-managers-daily-report/house-senate-address-contracting-issues-grants-bill-signed/

Core Value Focus: Customer Service

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“The companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have followed so many different paths to success,” says Inc. editor in chief James Ledbetter. “There’s no single course you can follow or investment you can take that will guarantee this kind of spectacular growth. But what they have in common is persistence and seizing opportunities.” Sabre88 has never tired in the pursuit of its core values, and uses them as opportunities for growth as it continues to improve upon them.

Sabre88 prides itself on our customer service. Our teamwork and open communication create a welcoming environment, while our understanding of accountability drives us. Community service is a part of our lifeblood, we aim to help the community as much as it has helped us. Our innovation-based solutions offer creative approaches to modern uses of technology and vision to reach the desired product.

Sabre88 was founded as a result of the realization of a need for innovative small businesses that can provide the government with 100% customer-focused service. Sabre88 takes pride in helping its clients improve overall business processes by tailoring best practices into replicable methodologies and by drawing on a capacity to assemble premier experts, processes, and tools tailored to its client’s individual needs. Our mission is to utilize its competitive mindset to enhance customer performance by developing new strategies after an analysis of existing organizational challenges. All of the figures that point to our growth and capabilities are second to the fact that Sabre88 provides our customers with the defined and impactful solutions to everyday problems.

Sabre88, LLC has a solid record of building strategic partnerships with the federal government to achieve mission-focused solutions. Sabre88 believes that building trusting relationships with the clients that it serves is critical to both organization’s success. Sabre88 takes a hands-on approach to serve its clients by making quarterly visits to clients and onsite personnel to identify possible problem areas and gain a deeper insight into the organizational culture. Additionally, the project managers on-site maintain crucial relationships with our customers, Project Manager Rossemery Duran exemplifies the culture we are trying to create saying, “Working in the same facility as the client has allowed my team and me to maintain constant and open lines of communication. I communicate with the client on a daily basis to ensure that they are receiving exceptional support. If any issues arise, I work with the client to rectify the issue as soon as possible”.  Sabre88’s proven ability to help government leaders manage large-scale initiatives and achieve mission goals is unsurpassed in its fervent commitment to the objectives of clients 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Far too often government requirements are fulfilled by hand- off contractors who lack the technical understanding and the management capabilities to satisfy task directives. Consequently, this leads to dissatisfied clients and growing distrust between federal agencies and contractors who attempt to support them. Sabre88, LLC has displayed a unique aptitude for bridging this gap to meet and satisfy the needs of Sabre88 clients and personnel. For Sabre88, this unique outlook in approach is the foundation of the company’s sustainability and growth which allows the organization to not just win new opportunities but develop exclusive and individualized partnerships based on a customer’s unique circumstances. We strive to maintain this company culture through our entire community, our project managers work hard to maintain strong relationships with our customers, “The client’s needs are always my top priority. I ensure that my team is aware that we need to be flexible in order to adapt to any of the changes that the client may have”. Good customer service starts with flexibility, insight, and resourcefulness. Throughout the organization, we strive to maintain and improve our skills with this core value with every experience.

Author: Bobby Cottingham

Explained: AOC Bill

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wants companies to be “friendlier” to their employees. And she wants the federal government to reward companies for it. The New York representative introduced a series of bills Wednesday aimed at creating what she calls a “just society.” That includes bills to update the federal poverty line, expand tenants’ rights, and to extend federal programs to all immigrants and former prisoners. She also wants to make sure all taxpayer-funded government contracts go to businesses that treat their workers well. It’s called the Uplift Our Workers Act. The bill would require the federal Office of Contract Compliance to create a scoring system that ranks businesses based on “worker friendliness.” Companies with the most worker-friendly policies would get the highest score, which in turn would give them an advantage in winning a lucrative government contract. This is no small thing. More than 42,000 US businesses hold federal contracts, and all of them agree to follow certain rules to keep their deals with the government. The score is not another requirement; it’s more of an incentive. Just like the government gives preference to minority-owned or veteran-owned business, it would also give preference to businesses with the best workplace policies.

It’s a creative policy idea, and one that would certainly burden employers who are always trying to save on labor costs. But it’s comprehensive, and creates a big incentive for America’s largest companies to give workers the best benefits and perks available.

How the score works

Under the bill, the Department of Labor and the White House would develop the scoring system for contractors who do government work, which includes everything from making military uniforms to developing computer software. Contract officers would score companies depending half a dozen factors, such as whether the business and its subcontractors have been penalized for violating any labor laws and whether the company can guarantee that its workers won’t work more than 40 hours a week to fulfill the contract, and whether they pay overtime to those who do. Higher scores would be given to companies that pay all employees at least $15 an hour and provide them with at least seven paid sick days. They would also give preference to those who guarantee fair scheduling to allow “workers to effectively provide for their families financially and emotionally.” That means giving workers a monthly work schedule ahead of time, and a final schedule two weeks ahead of time.

Contract officers will also consider whether or not a company compensating employees who are “on call” and whether it offers extra work hours to current employees before hiring others. Employers would also score higher if they guarantee at least 12 weeks paid family or parental leave and if they provide high-quality, subsidized health care. Extra points if they support employee unionizing efforts and have policies in place to analyze ethical, social, and environmental risks in their supply chain. And here’s one of the most interesting things: It directs contracting officers to consider this score just as important — if not more — than the cost of the contract. That’s a dramatic shift, considering that some contractors probably cut back on labor costs to provide the lowest possible price in the bidding process. Making sure that taxpayers don’t overpay businesses for their services is a legitimate concern, but this bill would also ensure that taxpayer funds are also used to reward companies that treat workers well.

It’s a different means to the same end

Ocasio-Cortez is hardly the only member of Congress trying to get businesses to treat workers better as income inequality in the US has skyrocketed. For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, which passed the House last month. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has sponsored the Family Act, which guarantees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to workers. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Healthy Families Act, which would require businesses to provide full-time workers with at least seven days of paid sick leave. She also introduced the Schedules That Work Act, which guarantees predictable schedules for workers, or extra pay if they have to work irregular schedules. So far, Republicans in the Senate haven’t even debated these bills. What Ocasio-Cortez’s bill does is create a huge incentive for businesses to do all of this. Sure, not every business is interested in a federal contract. But the 42,000 companies that do include America’s largest corporations, which employ tens of thousands of workers — like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, AT&T, and FedEx. And most importantly, they would only get a higher score if their subcontracted employees get the listed benefits, too — meaning Google’s cafeteria workers could get paid sick days as an incentive.

It may be easy to dismiss the bill as unachievable, especially coming from such a junior member of Congress. But Ocasio-Cortez has already managed to change the conversation about what is achievable on Capitol Hill. Just look at all the presidential candidates who endorse the Green New Deal.

Author: Prasanna Haresh Patil

Reference:

www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/26/20883371/ocasio-cortez-just-society-worker-bill-explained

www.peoplesworld.org/article/aoc-bill-federal-contractors-must-obey-labor-law-and-allow-unions-or-lose/

SBA Amends and Improves HUBZone Regulations

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The U.S. Small Business Administration is making major updates to the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program, which comes as good news to those small business concerns who have struggled with the 1997 law. These revisions, becoming effective on December 26, 2019, are just in time for the holidays, and a wonderful present it is for the HUBZone program and all those involved.

The HUBZone program has faced a great deal of challenges since its inception in 1997. The program, which was designed to bring opportunity and growth to underutilized zones, has yet to flourish. Agencies to date have not yet been able to fulfill the government wide goal of awarding at least 3% of all contracts to HUBZone companies. This does not come from lack of effort, however.

On January 30, 2017, the executive branch issued Executive Order 13771 directing federal departments and agencies to reduce regulatory burdens and control regulatory costs. In response to this directive, SBA initiated a review of all of its regulations to determine which might be revised or eliminated, the HUBZone Program standing out as an area of improvement.  The revisions to the HUBZone Program effective December 26th clarify current HUBZone Program policies and procedures and makes changes that will benefit the small business community by making the HUBZone Program more efficient and effective.

With these new updates, many of the challenges facing HUBZone small business have been addressed and improved upon, namely the certification process. For service firms, winning contracts to perform services in another state would often require them to hire from non-HUBZone areas, disqualifying them from eligibility for future HUBZone contracts. To alleviate these problems, § 126.500(a) of the final rule requires only annual recertification rather than immediate recertification at the time of every offer for a HUBZone contract award.

Additionally, the SBA modified the process of determining which areas would be classified as HUBZones and when the qualifications would change. HUBZones previously would shift based annually based on the most recent income and unemployment numbers.  This made it extremely difficult to maintain compliance. The Final Rule solves this problem, offering a public online tool that depicts HUBZONEs and is update every five years rather than updating annually.

The current trend in HUBZone contract awards reported shows 1.65% in FY2017 and 2.05% in FY2018. Look for these numbers to increase in the coming years.

Author: Paul McVeigh

Sources:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/26/2019-24915/small-business-hubzone-program-and-government-contracting-programs

Microsoft’s Pentagon Cloud Contract Controversy: Why It’s a Big Deal

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Microsoft just won a huge cloud contract from the Pentagon, outbidding Amazon and a handful of others. But the Pentagon contract, which is valued at $10 billion over 10 years, isn’t a done deal.

Amazon, which was favored to win the contract, isn’t going away quietly. The company has vowed to protest the decision, claiming bias on the part of the government and unfair intervention on the part of President Trump.

Ever since the Pentagon announced the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract, the leading cloud players had been pulling out all the stops to win it. JEDI is one component in the Pentagon’s efforts to modernize. The initiative relies on artificial intelligence, Internet of Things devices, and data analytics to enable the Pentagon to be more agile.

Pentagon contract mired in controversy from the start

Through JEDI, the Pentagon wants to be able to access data from the cloud, whether it’s on the battlefield or in a remote corner of the world. As it stands, the Pentagon’s systems are antiquated, making it hard to access and share data. Given the size and scope of the contract, it was expected that Amazon and Microsoft would go head to head to win it.

Bidding for the contract had been mired in controversy from the start. Some of the bidders — including IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle did not like that the Pentagon wasn’t splitting the contract across vendors. The Pentagon wanted a single vendor because it believes that it’s the best approach to enhance security, improve data access, and make it easier to incorporate more cloud computing technology in the future. Microsoft argued that approach was the opposite of the one the cloud industry was taking but was all in with its bid nonetheless.

Oracle and IBM emerged as vocal critics of the process, crying foul over Amazon’s unfair advantages. After all, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the undisputed leader in the sector, even if Microsoft is chipping away at its dominance.

Despite all the pushback in August, it appeared Amazon would be the eventual winner. Then President Trump stepped in. According to media reports, the contract decision was placed on hold as the Trump White House began an examination of Amazon’s bid. Trump was already a critic of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and told the press during a meeting with the prime minister of the Netherlands that his administration was receiving complaints about the bidding process. A few months later, the Pentagon decided to award the contract to Microsoft, sending its stock higher and prompting Amazon’s warning that it will challenge the decision.

Amazon is not going away quietly

Amazon’s move will likely draw out the final awarding of the contract, which has already been delayed. And landing it would be important for both Amazon and Microsoft, which is why the e-commerce giant is willing to fight. Both companies are aiming to expand their cloud businesses by getting more government work. The JEDI contract will be a huge selling point when bidding on other government contracts. The military takes security seriously when working with vendors, and if one already has a proven track record, it’s likely to get more business. It doesn’t hurt that the federal government is reportedly gearing up to spend $40 billion on cloud computing initiatives in the coming years. Losing the contract also hurts Amazon’s reputation more than it would Microsoft’s. AWS is the leader in the cloud market, having entered it earlier than its rivals. Sure, Microsoft has been slowly chipping away at AWS’s dominance, but it still remains a distant second-place player. Amazon has also shown it is serious about winning government contracts, recently beginning to hire for its second headquarters, which will be located just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., and near the Pentagon.

While the saga of the JEDI deal won’t end anytime soon, one thing is for sure: Winning the contract would be in the best interest of both cloud players and their investors now and in the years to come, especially as the government gears up to spend tons of money modernizing its vast computer systems.

Author: Prasanna Haresh Patil

Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/technology/dod-jedi-contract.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/microsoft-wins-pentagons-jedi-contract-and-the-cloud-wars-heat-up.html

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/11/22/microsoft-pentagon-cloud-contract-controversy-why.aspx

Sabre88 Supports Small Business Saturday

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It is that time of year again, folks! As we round the Thanksgiving corner and break into one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, don’t let Black Friday and Cyber Monday distract you from the opportunity to support our country’s small businesses on Small Business Saturday, observed on Saturday, November 30th this year.

What is Small Business Saturday? Simply put, it is a day to support small businesses and communities throughout the country. The idea is that, as consumers, we play a key role in facilitating the success of our nation’s small businesses.

Small Business Saturday was the brainchild of the credit card giant American Express, who set out to promote this idea to help our communities thrive and stay vibrant. According to their website, since it started in 2010, consumers have reported spending an estimated $103 billion across all Small Business Saturdays combined.

Sabre88 is proud to be a small business supporter. Sabre88 believes that in order to be a member of a sustainable community both locally and globally it is important to participate in and contribute to ongoing activities within that community.

As a small business, we at Sabre88 are tremendously thankful for the support of our customers and clients. The successes and achievements we have made over the last ten years would not have been possible without said support.

Pass on the support this Saturday, as it goes beyond the material goods or services purchased. Whether dining at a local café or finding a new niche clothing shop in town, any contribution will be felt by the families and communities in which those small businesses reside. Join the movement and Shop Small!

Author: Paul McVeigh

Sources:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/faqs

Federal Government Launches Online Scam Reporting System

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The Social Security Administration and Inspector General launch an online form to report Social Security-related scams.

These scams—in which fraudulent callers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments to avoid arrest for purported Social Security number problems—skyrocketed over the past year to become the number one type of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration.

Social Security and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will use the new online form to capture data that will be analyzed and used to identify the source of the scams. Officials said the end goal is to disrupt the scammers and reduce the number of scam victims reported.

“We are taking action to raise awareness and prevent scammers from harming Americans,” Social Security Commissioner Saul said. “I am deeply troubled that our country has not been able to stop these crooks from deceiving some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

You can report any type of phone scams, including live calls, robocalls and text scams. You can also report email, mail and in-person scams.

“Awareness is our best hope to thwart the scammers,” said Inspector General Ennis. “Tell your friends and family about them and report them to us when you receive them, but most importantly, just hang up and ignore the calls.”

Social Security employees do occasionally contact people–generally those who have ongoing business with the agency–by telephone for business purposes.  However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person, or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.  In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should just hang up.

 Generally, the agency mainly calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, someone who is already receiving payments and requires an update to their record, or a person who has requested a phone call from the agency.  If a person is not in one of these situations, they normally would not receive a call from the agency.

Social Security will not:

·       Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended.

·       Contact you to demand an immediate payment.

·       Ask you for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

·       Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a prepaid debit card, a retail gift card, or cash.

·       Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.

·       Promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.

If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail a letter.  If a person needs to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options.  People should never provide information or payment over the phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.

 The Social Security OIG will also continue to take reports of fraud, waste, and abuse in Social Security’s programs and operations.  A separate online form for those reports remains available at their website.

Author: Prasanna Haresh Patil

Reference: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/one-ring-phone-scam

https://www.usa.gov/common-scams-frauds

Federal government launches online scam reporting system