Federal Supply Schedule Procurement Explained

May 4, 2016

Understanding the Scope of FSS Labor Category Descriptions: Risks and Opportunities

Source: GOVCON, Keith Szeliga, February 26, 2016

In a Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) procurement conducted under FAR Subpart 8.4, all items quoted and ordered by the agency are required to be available on the vendor’s schedule contract as a precondition to its receiving the order. This means, in the case of a task order for services, that all of the solicited labor categories must be on the successful vendor’s FSS contract.

GAO has issued several opinions addressing what it means for GSA schedule services to be “on” a vendor’s FSS contract. In US Investigation Services, Professional Services Division, B-410454.2, Jan. 15, 2015, 2016 CPD ¶ 44, a bid protest successfully litigated by Sheppard Mullin, GAO articulated the test as whether the duties, responsibilities, and qualifications for the types of employees solicited by the agency are encompassed within the FSS labor category description. In that case, GAO sustained a protest alleging that the services offered by the awardee were not available on its GSA schedule contract where “none of the responsibilities or activities described in [the awardee’s FSS] labor category description [was] germane to the work required under the RFQ.”

More recently, in AllWorld Language Consultants, Inc., B-411481.3, Jan. 6, 2016, 2016 CPD ¶ 12, GAO articulated what could be interpreted as a more restrictive standard for determining whether services are available on a vendor’s FSS contract. Specifically, AllWorld includes language that arguably could be interpreted to suggest that a vendor’s FSS labor category description must recite all capabilities and qualifications identified in the solicitation and statement of work for an FSS procurement.  READ MORE….

Contact your nearest PTAC for further explanation of the Federal Supply Schedule procurement.

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