Protest Against Proposed Award to Low Bidder

A firm protested a proposed Air Force contract award to the low bidder. The protester alleged that the successful bidder's price was not based on the wage determination rate utilizing calculations similar to those used by the contracting officer and that the bid was far below cost. The contracting officer suspected a mistake in the low bid because the contract estimate, based on the required minimum wage rates and the required man-hours, was higher than the low bid. The bidder verified that he would not be required to pay himself minimum wage rates and would pay those rates to members of his family or other employees consistent with the provisions of the Service Contract Act. In addition, the contracting agency was charged by the act and implementing regulations with monitoring contractors for violations of contract labor standards.