Protest alleging OCI is denied. The protester alleged the awardee had an unequal access OCI because it had hired one of the protester’s employees. But an unequal access OCI only exists when a firm has access to non-public information as part of its performance of a government contract. There is no OCI when one offeror gets information from the employee of another offeror. That situation is a dispute between private parties that GAO will not consider.
Background
The Army issued an RFP seeking support of the agency’s Women, Infants, and Children Overseas program. The Army received three proposals. The Army awarded the contract to Cherokee Nation Aerospace & Defense. An unsuccessful offeror, Choctaw Defense Munitions, protested.
Legal Analysis
- No Unequal Access OCI – Choctaw alleged that Cherokee had an unequal access OCI because Cherokee had hired one of Choctaw’s former employees. But GAO reasoned an unequal access OCI exists when a firm has access to non-public information as part of its performance of a government contract. There is no OCI when one offeror gets information from the employee of another offeror. Rather, that situation is a dispute between private parties that GAO does not consider.
- Army Didn’t Disparately Evaluate Proposals – Choctaw contended the Army assigned strengths to Cherokee for its staffing approach but didn’t assign strengths to Choctaw for an approach that had the same benefits. GAO rejected this argument, noting that Choctaw had not proposed a similar approach to addressing staff turnover.
- Agency Reasonably Assessed Cherokee an Outstanding Rating Under Management Factor – Choctaw objected to the Outstanding rating Cherokee received under the RFPs management factor, arguing that such a rating was inherently unreasonable because Cherokee lacked experience as the incumbent. GAO found that Choctaw had provided no support for the proposition that only an incumbent could have the knowledge to warrant an outstanding rating.
Choctaw is represented by Timothy A. Furin and Alan M. Apple of The GovCon Law Group, LLP. The intervenor, Cherokee, is represented by Antonio R. Franco, Samuel S. Finnerty, and Eric A. Valle of the PilieroMazza PLLC. The agency is represented by Carlos S. Pedraza and Michael R. Tregle of the Army. GAO attorneys Jacob M. Talcott and Jennifer Westfall-McGrail participated in the preparation of the decision.
