[Protest of Bid Rejection by Labor]

A firm protested the Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration's rejection of its bid under a solicitation issued as a small business set-aside for security services. The Administration determined that the protester, a small business, lacked the necessary experience to perform the contract and, therefore, rejected the firm as nonresponsible. GAO stated that when a contracting officer determines that a small business is nonresponsible, the matter must be referred to the Small Business Administration (SBA). Since that was not done in this case, GAO recommended that the matter be presented to SBA and, if SBA issues a Certificate of Competency, the Administration should terminate the awardee's contract and make award to the protester. Accordingly, the protest was sustained.