Trinity Global Consulting, LLC

B-417823 Oct 07, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Trinity Global Consulting, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern located in McLean, Virginia, protests the issuance of an amendment to request for proposals No. W91247-19-R-9006, issued by the Department of the Army for Army Reserve Command military identification card/common access card office support services. Trinity contends that the amendment improperly disclosed the protester's proprietary information that was included in its proposal. We dismiss the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Trinity Global Consulting, LLC File:  B-417823 Date:  October 7, 2019 Chalfrantz Perry, Esq., Perry & Associates, for the protester. Felix Mason, Esq., Stephen Hernandez, Esq., and Scott N. Flesch, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Kasia Dourney, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest alleging that an amendment to the solicitation disclosed protester’s proprietary information is dismissed where the protester fails to establish a sufficient factual or legal basis for protest. DECISION Trinity Global Consulting, LLC (Trinity), a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) concern located in McLean, Virginia, protests the issuance of an amendment to request for proposals (RFP) No. W91247-19-R-9006, issued by the Department of the Army for Army Reserve Command military identification (ID) card/common access card (CAC) officesupport services.  Trinity contends that the amendment improperly disclosed the protester’s proprietary information that was included in its proposal.  We dismiss the protest. On March 29, 2019, the agency issued the RFP as a set-aside for SDVOSBs, anticipating award to the offeror submitting the lowest-priced, technically acceptable proposal.  Request for Dismissal, exh. 1, RFP at 1, 42.  The solicitation sought proposals for the Army Reserve Command military identification card/CAC officesupport services.[1]  COS ¶ 1.  As relevant here, the solicitation did not specify particular Service Contract Act (SCA) labor categories that offerors were required to use in their proposals but, rather, advised that offerors were to propose labor categories based on their specific proposed staffing solutions.[2]  COS ¶¶ 3, 7.  Prior to the initial closing date, the solicitation contained the following language identifying the equivalent federal employee labor category the agency determined could perform certain requirements: This Statement is for Information Only. It is not a Wage Determination: Job Series: 0326 Series Title: Office Automation Clerical and Assistance Pay Grade: GS 2, Step 2 Basic Rate: $13.51 (Locality Pay Area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC) RFP amend. 2 at 14.  On May 24, 2019, the protester submitted its proposal.  Request for Dismissal, exh. 3, Trinity’s Technical Proposal, at 1.  In its proposed staffing plan, Trinity recommended using the Personnel Assistant II labor category for the duties of Verifying Officials[3] (VO), one of the managerial positions for the requirement.  Id. at 14-15. On or about June 12, 2019, an Army contract specialist working on this acquisition received a call from an investigator with the Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division, inquiring about the labor categories used on the current ID/CAC contract at Fort Bragg.  COS ¶ 6.  According to the DOL investigator, her office was in the process of determining whether the federal employee labor category, Personnel Assistant Level II, instead of Word Processor I, was the proper labor category for the duties of VOs.  Id. After additional conversations with the DOL investigator and examining the scope of VO duties, the agency concluded that the labor category was misclassified, and identified Personnel Assistant Level II as the correct labor category for VO tasks.[4]  Accordingly, on August 2, 2019, the agency issued RFP amendment 4, inserting the following paragraph below the solicitation’s inclusion by reference of FAR clause 52.222-42: Job Series: 0326 Series Title: Office Automation Clerical and Assistance Pay Grade: Ranges between a GS 4, Step 7 and GS 5, Step 4 2019 Monetary Wage/Hourly Basic Rate: Ranges between $18.10 and $18.56 (Locality Pay Area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC.  Rates vary according to locality pay area). RFP amend.