The Compliance Buzz

GCAP's blog dedicated to providing up to date content on all things compliance related including news, regulatory updates, and original GCAP content.

January 14, 2020

DBE Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against City of Los Angeles

Complaint alleges city discriminated against Clean Up America, Inc. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ –Clean Up America, Inc and Deontay Potter filed a lawsuit Case No. 18STVC04176 against The City […]

November 6, 2019

Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for DBE Fraud Scheme

On November 6, 2019, Stamatios “Tom” Kousisis was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to 70 months’ imprisonment, 36 months’ supervised release, and $18,600 in […]

October 31, 2019

New York Painting Contractor Settles DBE Fraud Allegations

On October 31, 2019, Ahern Paining Contractors, Inc. (Ahern), of Woodside, New York, entered into a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District […]

October 16, 2019

Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Joint Venture Guidance

As guidance, this document sets forth the interpretations of the Department of Transportation of its existing legal authorities and the Department’s recommendations for carrying out the […]

October 9, 2019

File a Complaint with FTA

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has released instructions for how to file a complaint. FTA processes complaints under the following programs: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): […]

October 2, 2019

Attention: Contracting Community Engagement Meetings

September 19, 2019

All ‘Native American’ DBE Certifications Under Review by DOT

The LA Times published an article by Paul Pringle and Adam Elmahrek, entitled “Minority contractors claiming to be ‘Native American’ to undergo nationwide review.” A portion […]

September 15, 2019

SB1 Increasing Opportunities for Small Business

SB1 was signed in 2017 and invests $54 billion over the next 10 years to improve and maintain California’s transportation infrastructure. This is a good news […]

September 6, 2019

SBA Office of Advocacy Submits Comments on Size Standards

On Aug. 22, Advocacy submitted the Small Business Administration’s proposed rule, Small Business Size Standards: Calculation of Annual Average Receipts. In the letter, Advocacy urges the […]

September 5, 2019

Independent Contractors in Question After California Employment Bill Passes

AB-5 Worker Status: Employees and Independent Contractors This bill is an act to amend the Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code following the decision in Dynamex […]

September 3, 2019

FHWA Debars New Jersey-based Contractor

Sanzo Ltd. and its owner, Coral Sanzo, were debarred by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on August 23, 2019. This debarment prohibits Sanzo from participating in […]

August 1, 2019

City of Atlanta in Violation of Federal Obligation for Airport Grants

The Federal Aviation Administration says the city of Atlanta is in violation of its federal obligations for airport grants because of its actions in a dispute […]

July 26, 2019

LA – Largest City in US to Formally Include LGBTQ Businesses in Contract Process

The city of Los Angeles will be the largest municipality, by both population and economy, to formally include LGBTQ-owned businesses in the city’s billions of dollars […]

June 9, 2019

Illinois Supply Chain Manager Debarred by FTA

From June 30, 2017 to June 29, 2018, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) suspended Velda Berryman on allegations of fraud. Allegations were referred to the U.S. […]

June 5, 2019

Civil Settlement Reached with South Carolina Construction Company

Southern Concrete and Construction, Inc. (SCC) was investigated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for allegedly violating the False Claims Act. According to investigations, SCC […]

April 10, 2015

DBE Training: Setting and Meeting the Goal- Caltrans District 3

This half-day Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) training is being provided by Caltrans Office of Business & Economic Opportunity (OBEO) to help local agencies understand how to […]

March 19, 2015

USDOT Mentor-Protege Program Re-Launches

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is pleased to announce the expansion of our Mentor-Protégé Program. After successfully […]

February 25, 2015

DGS Small Business Program Meeting

The California Department of General Services’ (DGS) will host a hearing to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinion on the proposed changes to […]

January 16, 2015

Q&A- Western States Paving Company Case

The US DOT provides specific guidance regarding the Western States Paving Company case and its impact on federally-funded contracting in the 9th Circuit. Below is an […]

January 15, 2015

Caltrans FTA Disparity Study Released

Caltrans has released the FTA Disparity Study, which found that substantial disparity exists between the expected and actual participation of some disadvantaged groups on contracts funded by the […]