2024 Pre-Quote Questions and Answers.pdf

Questions and Answers from Pre-Quote Conference February 7, 2024

Notice------DOL Wage and Hours Division will be conducting training about the Service Contract Act requirements. Please see attached Flyer.

Q. Will an updated government estimate of rates be contemplated or published?

A. We do not intend to publish a Government Estimate.

Q. Are statements of equivalent wage rates going to be updated?

A. That FAR Clause is now incorporated in FAR 52.212-5 by reference.

Q. Perhaps you will reconsider using google maps for travel estimation as it is highly variable, doesn’t allow for safe breaks and stops and is in conflict with and more appropriate tool, namely the mob guide.

We propose to use the 45 mph rule in the mob guide.

A. The Government does not intend to change the travel time calculation that is listed in the solicitation.

Q. Perhaps you will reconsider not using the closest available resource in light of the US OIG report this year regarding the processes the Forest Service uses to dispatch resources. Given the representations made to the OIG, this process seems to be in direct conflict with those same representations. Also, given the lawsuits by landowners, it does seem, on it’s face, that the process you are using is getting a further away (but cheaper) resource. Effectively, the process delays resources from reaching the fire and helping to put it out.

A. The ordering procedures are outlined in this solicitation. These ordering procedures are not based on closest available resource.

Q. Will you please check with the acquisition authorities to confirm that the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) is $7.5 million per order, and not $250,000 per order. Will you please check with the acquisition authorities that the SAT is not actually $7.5 million per BPA?

A. As stated in section C.24 (k) of the solicitation the order limit for resultant BPA’s established under this solicitation is $7.5 Million. This is done in accordance with the authorities listed in FAR Subpart 13.5.

Q. Will you consider amending the current (2023) agreements pricing so that we can pay the firefighters according to the new wage determination in the early season (before the 2024 agreements are awarded?

A. The Government does not intend to make changes to this agreement outside of those listed in this solicitation for the annual review.

Q. Will you please publish type 2 crew usage statistics for 2023? How many crews worked, how many days? Anything else you can provide would be lovely.

A. The Government does not intend to publish this type of information for the purposes of this solicitation.

Q. Will you be relaxing and allowing any additional flexibility for alternate crew bosses?

A. The requirements for alternate crew bosses are listed in this solicitation.

Q. How much weight will you give to historical pricing given the new DOL wage determination rise is so large as to make historical pricing irrelevant?

A. The evaluation criteria for this solicitation is listed in Section E.3.

Q. We are working on getting approved to use H2B workers as firefighters. An attorney advised us that it was not legal to do so. The only instance would be if they were called to assist on a local fire nearby where they were doing forestry-related work. They also mentioned that we would have to pay whatever wage determination applies to the county they are working in. Each county has its wage determination.

Will the Forest Service Allow H2B workers on fires even though it is illegal?

A. Response provided by DOL. Wildland firefighters qualify for H-2B so as long as the workers are engaged in the work activities under SOC 45-4011 45-4011.00 - Forest and Conservation Workers (onetonline.org). That means that it is not illegal for them to request H2B workers as long as they are performing work activities under SOC-45-4011

Firefighting activities are listed under this classification, so they can request H2B workers. For more information they should read SOC 45-4011 45-4011.00 - Forest and Conservation Workers (onetonline.org)

They will have to pay the prevailing wage that applies under the SCA contract they have with you or the H2B rates for their classification whichever is higher.

Q. Will the Government evaluate if bid pricing is sufficient to meet the requirements of the Agreement?

Will bid prices that are too low to reasonably meet the Agreement requirements, or show lack of contractor understanding of the Agreement, be considered for award? Will pricing from bids that are too low to meet Agreement requirements be used when determining overall Agreement price reasonableness?

Our concern is there will be bids that are too low to meet the requirements of the Agreement, and as a result, overall Agreement price reasonableness will be affected.

A. The Government does not intend to evaluate price realism. Please refer to Section E.3 of the solicitation.

Q. Since different regions have different minimum costs, will pricing reasonableness be evaluated separately for different CLINS?

A. The Government looks at pricing nationally to determine prices fair and reasonable.

Q. For Job 27070 Fire Fighter, is the minimum wage for this class code increased to $29.00 per hour?

and For the Western Region has the minimum wage increased to $26.48 per hour? Pg. 93 Health & Welfare Have the Fringe benefits wage now increased to $4.98 per hour?

A. The wage determination outlines the minimum prevailing wage that must be paid and also the rate for H&W and Fringe. If you have specific compliance questions related to the Service Contract Act I recommend you reach out to the Wage and Hours Division of the Department of Labor.

Q. Will contractors be obligated to pay the $26.48/hr + fringe benefits on top of that to regular type 2 firefighter employees?

A. Contractors are required to comply with the service contract act and the prevailing wages set forth in the wage determination attached to this solicitation.

Q. Where, how and to who can non-compliant contractors be reported to?

A. The Wage and Hours Division of the Department of Labor.

Q. Will USFS / DOL Tier the new wage determination according to firefighter qualification level?

A. To my knowledge there has not been any request submitted to reclassify labor categories under the current wage determination.

Q. Can you clarify the clauses that were added or removed?

A. All updates to FAR clauses were completed are required of the annual review of the BPA.

Q. Will the USFS share the number of Available T2C at each dispatch location?

A. We do not track the number or resources listed at each DDP. These are national resources tracked nationally.

Q. Does the USFS have a method to determine a more accurate number of available T2C at each dispatch location during fire season.

A. Contractors are required to report their availability status in the Resource Statusing system daily.

Q. If our 20-person crew is not physically located at the DDP but can make the date and time requested, can they still accept the order?

A. Section D.1.9 states the following: The Designated Dispatch Point (DDP) is the physical address provided by the Contractor where the T2C personnel and equipment must be located to be available for dispatch.

Q. If our crew drives 8 hours from home base to the incident the night before, will the driving hours be considered the maximum hours for a shift? For instance, if the crew drives all night, the shift starts at 0600, and then the crew pulls a 16-hour maximum shift, totaling a 24-hour shift. Will that be allowed, or would they have to go off change after 16 hours? Can it be worked out with the dispatcher or IC?

A. All on-shift time (including travel) counts towards the maximum 16 hours. Exceeding the 16 hours is not allowed unless well documented/justified and mitigated in the next operational period.

Q. MSPA requires that certified payroll reports be reported for all employees. Do we send those certified payroll reports to the contracting officer?

A. No. The Wage and Hours Division of the Department of Labor has sole regulatory authority over the Service Contract Act.

Q. If I already have a BPA I do not have to submit SF-1449 is this correct?

A. If you have already been established a BPA under this requirement then you do not need to submit the SF-1449 again.

Q. Will Key Personnel (Primary Crew Boss) that is switching to my Company, need a full Package even if they were previously Verified with previous Company?

Yes. You will need to provide sufficient documentation that your key personnel meet the requirements of the solicitation.

Q. Also for proof Key personnel is now working with our Company, Our Carding Associations have Transfer Sheets, will those be valid as proof?

A. It can be submitted as part of the documentation to aid in the review process.

Q. If we need to use a rental is there an exemption for the MSPA?

A. Not that I am aware of. However, this question would be better addressed to the Department of Labor.

Q. What is the email address for the National Interagency Coordination Center?

A. nicc.crews@firenet.gov

Q. What about H2A visa workers? Can they be used on this agreement?

A. I believe that H2A visa workers are exclusively used for farm work. This question would be better addressed to the Department of Labor.

Q. Does this wage determination apply to agency firefighters as well?

A. No. Wage determinations only apply to Government Contracts/Agreements covered by the Service Contract Act.

Q. To replace a primary CRWB with an already verified alternate CRWB, can the change be documented on the Microsoft Forms and that will suffice? Or should the instructions on section C.9 be completed as well?

A. Documented on the Microsoft Form is sufficient as long as that individual has been verified under you company and you have already submitted sufficient documentation previously.

Q. If a crew member decides not to go out and the Manifest has already been sent, can we update the manifest with the available crew member replaced and be accepted?

A. A complete and accurate manifest is required to be submitted to the NICC prior to mobilization.

mailto:nicc.crews@firenet.gov

Q. How does the lowest cost calculation apply to resource orders that require air travel (Alaska)? Is the calculation based on distance to nearest airport?

A. Resources under this agreement are not typically utilized to respond to fires in Alaska.

However, if they were then travel calculation would be from the DDP to the mobilization site.

Q. Can you clarify on how alternate crew bosses can be used? If an alternate crew boss has already been used on a crew can they still be used later on as an alternate crewboss for another key personel that they have been assigned to?

A. All primary and alternate CRWB must be listed on your crew summary to be utilized under this agreement. Only one Primary and Two Alternates can be listed on each crew. Primary CRWB are not interchangeable between crews. However, Alternates can be used on multiple crews as long as the are listed on the crew summary for that particular crew. Or you have documentation from the Government stating they have been added to that particular crew.

Q. On Section C.25 (f) it lists off-shift duties including check-out. Is check-in considered an on shift duty?

We have had different experiences with finance of how check-in is handled.

A. Only the tasks listed in the agreement as on-shift duties can be compensated under this agreement.

Q. What happens when the old company will not supply a full file on an already approved key person?

A. All compliance with the Service Contract Act is done by the Department of Labor. I would reach out to them to see if there are any remedies provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Service Contract Act.

Q. When would be an ideal time to send in packets for new alternate key personnel?

A. Anytime. However, Alternates will not typically be verified until after the annual review process is complete.

Wage & Hour Training for Wildland Fire Contractors

Join Us for Training Designed for You!

The laws for wildfire contractors are numerous and complicated. Please join us for a comprehensive training specifically for those contracting to do wildfire suppression.

We are offering the training two different dates: Tuesday Feb 13 at 5:00pm MST, and Thursday Feb 22 at 5:00pm MST. (Both trainings will cover the same materials.)

The training will cover the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Migrant Seasonal Protection Act, and the Service Contract Act

Topics Include:

- Correct Wage Rates & Overtime Payments

- Independent Contractors

- MSPA Registration Requirements

- Prevailing Wages & Fringe Benefits

- Updated Wage Determination

For more information, please contact Andrea Rasmussen, Community Outreach &

Resource Planning Specialist, at:

rasmussen.andrea@dol.gov or 208-813-7761

When: Feb 13 and 22, 2024, at 5pm MST

Where: Virtual Training via Teams (see links below)

Who: Provided by DOL Wage & Hour, Portland District Office

Training Feb 13, 2024 Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 255 634 269 889 Passcode: X8cyar Download Teams | Join on the web Join with a video conferencing device teams@meet.dol.gov Video Conference ID: 115 055 691 1 Alternate VTC instructions Or call in (audio only) +1 202-735-3644,,937133776# United States, Washington DC Phone Conference ID: 937 133 776# Find a local number | Reset PIN

Training Feb 22, 2024 Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 230 399 937 670 Passcode: AJbdTZ Download Teams | Join on the web Join with a video conferencing device teams@meet.dol.gov Video Conference ID: 115 337 419 6 Alternate VTC instructions Or call in (audio only) +1 202-735-3644,,788963742# United States, Washington DC Phone Conference ID: 788 963 742# Find a local number | Reset PIN mailto:rasmussen.andrea@dol.gov https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OTBkZGRkZjktOGQwYy00NTM4LTgwYmEtZTY4NjkyODBiMjkx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2275a63054-7204-4e0c-9126-adab971d4aca%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b89694b6-ab2c-48ba-b345-1d4ef9951e8c%22%7d https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting https://pexip.me/teams/meet.dol.gov/1150556911 tel:+12027353644,,937133776#%20 https://dialin.teams.microsoft.com/6fa250d2-bb98-414b-b289-8c30fad5cb00?id=937133776 https://dialin.teams.microsoft.com/usp/pstnconferencing https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NDI1NTU0NTQtMzk2MC00Y2ExLTgyZTQtZDU4ODM3OWZlZGEx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2275a63054-7204-4e0c-9126-adab971d4aca%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b89694b6-ab2c-48ba-b345-1d4ef9951e8c%22%7d https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting https://pexip.me/teams/meet.dol.gov/1153374196 tel:+12027353644,,788963742#%20 https://dialin.teams.microsoft.com/6fa250d2-bb98-414b-b289-8c30fad5cb00?id=788963742 https://dialin.teams.microsoft.com/usp/pstnconferencing