Dive Brief:

• The federal government stands by its allegations, but Okland Construction of Salt Lake City, Utah, stands by its denials that it misused an agreement with a minority company. However, a $928,000 settlement of a lawsuit means the question will never be resolved.
• The company has agree to pay the government to go away rather than pour cash into a legal case that claims Okland misused a Small Business Administration (SBA) program intended to have larger firms foster the skills that small, disadvantaged companies need to compete for work more effectively.
• The government claimed Okland and Saiz Construction never had an SBA-approved agreement and that Okland workers were passed off as working for Saiz.

Dive Insight:

The case was about nine federal contracts, most for work at Nellis Air Force Base over the course of four years. Saiz owner Abel Saiz had filed his own lawsuit under a whistle-blower law, and the company will get $148,480 from the government money, and Okland will pay Saiz's $86,000 legal bill.