Federal Workers Win Protest Rights in Job Competitions Federal employees will be allowed to appeal decisions in public-private job competitions under the 2005 Defense Authorization Act that is awaiting President Bush’s signature. The final bill includes a compromise provision requiring the agency tender official, the official who supervises the government employees’ offer, to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office if a majority of the affected employees ask for it. The official could refuse if he determines “there is no reasonable basis for the protest.” Under current law, contractors can file protests if they lose a competition, but federal employees cannot. Both the House and Senate had originally voted to give protest rights to an elected representative of the employees as well, but a conference committee narrowed the language in the final bill. Unions had pushed to give protest rights to employee representatives. They argue that the agency tender official, who is part of management, is not likely to challenge the agency’s decision. Union leaders said they were not satisfied with the final language. Chris Jahn, president of the Contract Services Association of America, called the final bill “a marked improvement” over the original provision. Streamlined competitions involving small work units in the Defense Department will again be prohibited under the 2005 Defense Appropriations Act, signed by President Bush last month. That law gives DOD employees in units of 10 employees or more the right to restructure their work in a so-called most efficient organization before competing with the private sector. It also requires contractors to beat the government’s cost by at least 10% in order to win any competition involving more than 10 employees. In other departments the 10% cost advantage applies only to competitions involving more than 65 employees. (SAA, 9/24) The House has voted to scrap the revised OMB Circular A-76, which sets the rules for job competition. That amendment was added to the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill for 2005. The bill awaits a final vote when Congress returns Nov. 16.