01924_ExhB1_ScopeofServices_Final.docx

EXHIBIT B-1 – SCOPE OF SERVICES

Overview of the Scope.

This is a Cooperative Purchasing Agreement for eligible purchasers to purchase impartial Professional Investigator Services and Digital Forensics Investigator Services. These services are provided by third-party investigators and conduct impartial workplace investigations and use digital forensics of Purchaser employees.

An impartial investigation is generally conducted so that an employer can determine what occurred when there are contested allegations affecting the workplace that involve a potential violation of the employer’s policies, standards, ethics, or the law. The point of an impartial investigation is to provide a fair and impartial process for the complainant and respondent and to reach reasoned findings based on the information gathered.

Investigative services help eligible purchasers find, prevent, and respond to issues involving alleged or suspected wrongdoing, misconduct, or ethical lapses. Information obtained through these investigations can be used as evidence before courts or investigative committees.

Awarded Contractors will provide investigation, interviews, and associated professional reports. These services have been broken down into the following five (5) categories:

Category 1 -Discrimination Investigations regarding claims of:

· Discrimination- protected class status includes age, race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, marital status, disability, sex, or any other characteristic protected by law.

· Discrimination, specifically as it relates to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.

· Sexual harassment.

· Discriminatory harassment or hostile work environment specifically as it relates to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

Category 2 - General Investigations regarding claims of:

· Employee misconduct, including non-discriminatory harassment.

· Employee performance issues.

· Workplace policy violations, including violations of respectful workplace and DEI policies.

· HIPAA breaches.

· Retaliation and intimidation.

· Discrimination on participating or not participating in Union activities, as outlined by Article 2 of pertinent Collective Bargaining Agreements.

· Ethics as defined by RCW 42.52, State Ethics in Public Service Act.

Category 3- Digital Forensics- Phone/ Cell Phone Investigations that require:

· Phone/ cell phone forensics. Review, capture, analyze and report on phone and cell phone records. Be able to produce a report specific to this forensic review. Must be able to comply with all WaTech (Washington Technical Solutions) data-sharing policies and chain-of-custody for state-issued technology. Link: Policies | WaTech

Category 4- Digital Forensics- Computer Investigations that require:

· Computer forensics. Review, capture, analyze and report on server, computer hard drives, email, tablets, and other USB devices as well as access to cloud instances. Be able to produce a report specific to this forensic review. Must be able to comply with all WaTech (Washington Technical Solutions) data sharing policies and chain-of-custody for state issued technology. Link: Policies | WaTech

Category 5- Digital Forensics- Audio/Visual Investigations that require:

· Audio/visual forensics. Review, capture, analyze and report on video, video enhancement, recordings, audio enhancement and transcription. Be able to produce a report specific to this forensic review. Must be able to comply with all WaTech (Washington Technical Solutions) data sharing policies and chain-of-custody for state issued technology. Link: Policies | WaTech

1. Bidder’s Tasks and Responsibilities.

· All investigations must comply with Association of Workplace Investigators Guidelines.

· All records, notes, and materials in any form should be retained as they are subject to the Public Records Act and Preservation and Destruction of Public Records 40.14 in partnership with the Purchaser.

· Investigators must conduct themselves in the utmost courteous and professional manner when investigating or conversing with the Purchaser and staff.

· Investigators must have the following skills through verifiable credentials or experience:

· Investigators must respect cultural, political, socio-economic, and any differences between Investigators, Purchaser, and staff.

· Investigators must remain neutral and shall not interpret conversations in a manner that will direct a certain result or convey Investigator position or opinion.

· Investigator must safeguard client information as required through federal and state law, as well as Purchasers policies when identified and requested. See Section 4, Data Control and Security for further requirements. Information pursuant to data control and security, may include but is not limited to:

· Protected Health Information (PHI)

· Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

· Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

· All investigations must comply with pertinent Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) for investigations involving Purchaser personnel that are subject to Collective Bargaining Agreements. CBAs may impact the policies and procedures pertaining to investigations for such Purchasers. The CBAs are available on the Washington State Office of Financial Management website (https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/labor-relations/collective-bargaining-agreements).

· Investigators must complete the work in 90 days from the date the Purchaser Order is signed due to the sensitive nature of these investigations, unless otherwise negotiated with Purchaser.

· Investigator must review all documents and materials ordered and produced by the Purchaser; determine if all such documents and materials have been properly produced; determine if other documents and materials should be ordered and produced; and prepare and serve the additional documents.

· Investigator must identify any problems encountered in the investigation and promptly report problems, irregularities, or concerns with the investigation immediately to the Purchaser’s main point of contact and follow procedures outlined in Exhibit D- Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, Section 15 – Dispute Resolution.

· Investigator must schedule interviews with identified employees.

· Investigator must submit a final detailed report on the investigation. The final report requirements will be detailed by the Purchaser in the scope of work but are expected to include:

• The scope of the report;

• A summary of the facts gathered throughout the investigation, including a chronology of events;

• The people interviewed and an interview memo, and the documents reviewed;

• The specific conclusion(s) reached on each key issue;

• The identification of any issues that could not be resolved in the investigation;

• A brief discussion of how the Agency guidelines or policies apply to the situation;

• For what period did the problem occurred, and what, if any, is the financial impact to the Agency;

• A list of the documents gathered for the investigation.

· All meetings may be recorded during different stages of the investigation if required by the Purchaser.

· Civil Service Rules. Must be familiar with the location and contents of the civil service rules and how it applies to non-represented, civil service employees and employers under the jurisdiction of Chapter 41.06 RCW except those positions or employees exempted under the provisions of Chapter 357-04 WAC. Civil Service Rules Link: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/civil-service-rules and have an understanding of just cause which may be applied in the adjudication of discipline and discharge cases under the civil service rules.

· Human Resources Directives. Must have familiarity with the location and contents of the State’s Human Resources Directives Link: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/hr-directives.

· Confidentiality. Must understand the importance of confidentiality but also the limitations on confidentiality with respect to applicable labor law, public disclosure law, or other laws.

2. Purchaser Tasks and Responsibilities.

· Purchaser will provide a primary point of contact, with one alternative, to the investigator on the Purchase Order to maintain continuity in communication throughout the completion of the services rendered.

· Purchaser will provide a detailed scope of work to bidder at time of initial request for services. The scope of work should include: Whether work shall be conducted remotely or onsite, information to be included in the report (as described above), the format of the report, if any recording of meetings need to be conducted, and timelines and expectations of communications as part of the investigation process.

· Purchaser shall provide a detailed format requirements and required information sections for the final investigative report at the time of initial request for services.

· Purchaser will respond to material requests from investigator in a timely manner.

· Purchaser will notify employees of upcoming interviews or information requests.

3. Bidder’s Qualifications.

· Minimum industry experience that key personnel providing the services on this contract should have:

a) For Categories 1 and 2, three years of industry experience in Human Resources, Private Investigation or Employment or Labor Law.

b) For Categories 3, 4, and 5, three years of industry experience in Digital Forensics.

· Bidder must have completed at least three investigations that are similar in scope to the categories being bid in the last three years.

· Bidder’s key personnel who will be performing service under the contract if awarded, must demonstrate prior experience or training in successfully working with stakeholders from different demographic backgrounds, including racial, ethnic, gender, and language differences.

· Bidder, as specified in Exhibit D – Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, Section 8.5 Customer Service must provide:

a) Customer/purchaser support via telephone and email from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time,

b) Response Time Commitments:

I. Respond to customer/purchaser routine requests within 96 hours.

II. Respond to quote requests within 72 hours.

c) Have an escalation process for any customer service issue that is not resolved within 7 working days.

d) An ongoing customer feedback process demonstrating bidder’s approach to proactively seek, collect, and resolve any negative customer feedback.

4. Data Control and Security

· Data security for confidential information must comply with the requirements in Exhibit D, Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, Sections 8.7 – Confidential Information; Data Security; Network Access, Section 8.8 – Data Security Requirements, and Section 8.9 – Data Ownership, Use, Recovery.

· Bidder must establish an information security program and maintain physical, technical, administrative, and organizational safeguards, that comply with: (a) applicable industry standards and guidelines; (b) American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) System and Organization Controls (SOC) 1; and (c) Washington Technology Solutions Standards (WaTech). See Policy 141.10 – Securing Information Technology Assets Standards

· Data breach security must follow the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards and includes breach detection, breach notification and breach response.

· Purchasers may require entering into a Data Sharing Agreement depending on the scope of the investigation. Data Sharing Agreements are generally required when the investigation includes sensitive or confidential data. Purchaser will outline this requirement in the scope of work/purchase order process.

Exhibit B-1 - Scope of Services Page 1