Technically, no. However, when the contractor is protesting the award of a contract for the same agency that issued the unfavorable Contractor Performance Evaluation Report (CPAR), the contractor may have some success arguing that there was a conflict of interest.
In a very recent decision, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed most of the claims
Part 42.15 of the FAR entitles federal contractors to submit comments and receive agency review of an unfavorable performance evaluation in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). If the contractor’s rebuttal is unsuccessful, the contractor may challenge the CPARS rating by submitting a claim to the contracting officer (CO) under the Contract Disputes Act.
Contractors do not have to waive future claim rights when negotiating the direct cost of a change order (modification) with the government, despite banter by the contracting officer that reservation of claims is not permitted. More often than not, the contracting officer will inform the contractor that it is necessary to incorporate the following language