The Government Accountability Office has proposed allowing
certain designated officials to protest A-76 outcomes on
behalf of in-house competitors, with the status of an
“interested party.”
GAO’s rule proposed in the December 20 Federal Register
could level the playing field somewhat in terms of protest
rights between contractors and employees, and is a compromise
unions originally sought after failing to win employee appeal
rights.
The rule would amend GAO’s bid protest regulations to “expand
the definition of an interested party to include the official
responsible for submitting the federal agency tender in a
public private competition,” conducted under circular A-76
regarding a function preformed by more than 65 full time feds.
The rule also expands the definition of an “intervenor” to
include a person representing a majority of the employees of
the agency that are part of the function being competed —
potentially a union official — again when the A-76
competition involves more than 65 FTEs.