Congress has made it pretty tough to file a protest against a task order. For one thing, task order protests can generally only occur at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). For another, if a task order dollar value is too small, it can’t be protested at all. A recent case confirms that the exceptions to the restrictions on task order protests are quite narrow. However, a protest can allege that a task order increases the scope, period, or maximum value of the contract under which it is issued. Here, the protester did that. GAO had jurisdiction, but still denied the protest.
Continue readingTag Archives: task order protests
FAR Updates: Size Protests for Orders, Rules for 8(a) Follow-On Contracts
The FAR Council has released updates that will impact a couple aspects of small business contracting. One is that contractors can now file size and socioeconomic status protests for certain types of orders, under strict timelines. Second is that agencies must notify SBA when they seek to remove certain contracts from the 8(a) Program. While these rules were present in some form in SBA rules, they are now firmly ensconced in the Federal Acquisition Regulation as well. Below, I discuss the highlights of these rules as well as any differences from the SBA rules.
Continue readingGAO Clarifies Increase-the-Scope Exception For Task Order Jurisdiction
GAO may only consider protests to civilian agency task or delivery orders under $10,000,000 if the protests allege that the order increases the scope, period, or maximum value of the underlying contract. GAO recently dismissed a case for lack of jurisdiction where the protester relied on the underlying contract’s ordering clause to argue that the agency’s amendment to the evaluation scheme was “out of scope.” Let’s take a look.
Continue readingUnreasonable Cost Adjustment Leads to Sustained Protest
Of late the pages of this blog have been entirely coronavirus and COVID-19 obsessed—and for good reason. But that does not stop the Government Accountability Office from deciding bid protests.
With all that’s been going on, writing about a GAO decision regarding run-of-the-mill unreasonable cost realism evaluation is downright refreshing.
Continue readingCOFC: No Jurisdiction Over Bundling of Contracts into Task Order
When considering where to file a bid protest, you have options at the agency level, Government Accountability Office, and Court of Federal Claims. But not all options are available for protests of task and delivery order awards. The Court of Federal Claims recently reminded a protester that it lacks jurisdiction over task and delivery orders, even where an agency is proposing to bundle multiple separate contracts into one task order.
Continue readingTask Order Size Protests: Too Little, Too Late, Says SBA OHA
So, your company has made it past the first big hurdle and got on a GSA schedule. You see a small business task order pop up that you believe your company would be perfect for, but another company gets the award. Based on information you have heard or read, you believe something fishy may be going on and the awarded company may be a big fish that found its way into the small pond.
But can you timely protest the task order award?
Continue readingWho’s the Ombudsman? Proposed FAR Rule Requires Clarity
When GAO lacks jurisdiction to hear a protest over a task or delivery order, contractors have the right to complain to an ombudsman. Implementation of the ombudsman right, however, has been haphazard at best.
Last week, the DoD, GSA, and NASA–the entities comprising the FAR Council–proposed a rule to help alleviate this issue for IDIQ contracts.