1. AMNT 0002 - DOL RFQ 1605C5-25-R-00004 0002.docx

1605C5-25-R-00004 0002 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

SECTION B – SF 1449 CONTINUATION PAGE

B.1 CONTRACT TYPE & COST/PRICE SCHEDULE

The Government anticipates an award of one contract which has both firm-fixed-price and/or labor-hour line items. See Attachment 3 – Pricing Sheet JOLTS and Technical Exhibit 3 below for the detailed cost/price information. All proposed rates represent the contractor’s fully burdened rates for each skill classification for work to be performed.

B.2 LABOR DISCOUNTS

All proposed rates represent the contractor’s fully burdened rates for each skill classification for work to be performed. Offerors shall factor in all costs and any applicable discounts of performing the requirements under this solicitation

1605C5-25-R-00004

JOLTS

END OF SECTION B

SECTION C – PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Part 1 - General Information

1.1 Mission

To secure and maintain survey participation and the collection of confidential job openings, hires, and separations data used for the development of important federal economic indicators that measure the health of the U.S. economy.

1.2 Description of Services/Introduction

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects data each month on employment, job openings, hires, and separations from a sample of nonfarm establishments through the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program. The survey includes about 21,000 business and government agency worksites drawn from a sampling frame of roughly 11.3 million private and government establishments. The JOLTS sample includes establishments located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The JOLTS survey collects the following data elements from business and government establishments:

· Total Employment (TE)

· Job Openings (JO)

· Hires (H)

· Quits (Q)

· Layoffs and Discharges (LD)

· Other Separations (OS)

· Total Separations (TS) For more information on the data collected by JOLTS, please see Technical Exhibit 5 – JOLTS Forms and Data Elements.

The JOLTS program uses the data collected to produce monthly estimates of job openings, hires, and separations by industry at the national level and for total nonfarm at the Census region and state levels, including the District of Columbia. The JOLTS program produces both levels and rates for each of its published data series. Employment data collected by the JOLTS program is used to calculate rates but is not published separately. The JOLTS program uses three different reference periods. The reference period for employment is the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. The reference period for job openings is the last business day of the month. The reference period for hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations is the entire calendar month.

JOLTS estimates for a given reference month are released approximately 22 business days after the end of that month.

JOLTS series are indicators of current economic trends in the U.S. & State labor markets each month including:

· The demand for labor (job openings)

· The effect of job matching and training programs (hires)

· Worker’s confidence in the labor market (quits)

· Indications of a contracting labor market (layoffs and discharges)

· Underlying dynamics of the labor market (hires and separations) The JOLTS job openings series can be compared to the level of unemployment to create a measure of the number of unemployed persons per job opening. It can also be compared to the unemployment rate to look at structural versus cyclical changes in the labor market.

JOLTS series can also inform other areas of business, research, and policy:

· Monetary policy

· Public policy

· Economic research and planning

· Industry studies For more information on JOLTS, please visit https://www.bls.gov/jlt/.

The contractor shall provide all personnel and supervision to render non-personal services necessary to perform BLS JOLTS Data Collection activities as defined in this Performance Work Statement, except as Specified in Part 3 as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract action.

1.3 Background

BLS is pursuing a contract to outsource data collection activities to a contractor. Specifically, BLS is seeking a contractor to perform Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data Collection Center (DCC) operations.

Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects data on employment, job openings, hires, and separations from a sample of establishments. JOLTS has a comprehensive program of new sample unit enrollment in the JOLTS DCCs. The DCCs perform sample address refinement, initial enrollment of each establishment via telephone, and collection for several months as needed via Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). After three months of CATI collection, the DCCs encourage respondents to self-report using the web collection site or Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF). In addition, the DCCs conduct an ongoing program of refusal conversion. Nearly all refinement and initial enrollment, and about 30 percent of ongoing monthly collection occur by CATI at the DCCs.

JOLTS engages in continuous process improvement activities to improve quality and efficiency and when needed implements changes that may affect how data are collected or processed.

The BLS Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF) allows respondents to complete their monthly data entry online on a secure website. The data are subject to a series of edit & screening checks before being transmitted to JOLTS. About 60 percent of JOLTS data are collected by web and 33 percent of JOLTS data are collected by CATI.

The JOLTS DCCs collect about 7% of their reports by other means such as email or fax, though the latter is generally discouraged and retained only for those respondents whose cooperation may be in jeopardy with other modes of collection.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of the reports collected by the various JOLTS collection methods.

Figure 1.

1.3.1 JOLTS Survey Units

The JOLTS survey consists of certainty unit and probability selected units. All sampled establishments with 5,000 or more employees, called certainty selections, are included in the sample with virtual certainty and remain in the sample as long as they remain at or above 5,000 employees. All remaining units are selected by probability and remain in the JOLTS survey for three years. All new probability selections and certainty selections are enrolled by the DCCs.

For more information on the JOLTS sample, please visit: https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jltsampl.htm

1.4 Objectives

The contractor shall provide non-personal services for the JOLTS program with survey data collection services at the Federal Government Data Collection Centers (DCCs) in Atlanta, GA and Kansas City, MO. Limited telework flexibility will be provided. The contractor shall engage in their best effort to provide quality control (QC), training, and project management to support contractor operations at the DCCs and fulfill the DCC’s mission.

The government retains responsibility for JOLTS survey methodology, procedures, and tools including:

· Sampling methodology and selection.

· Assignment of cases for enrollment and collection to the DCC.

· Data collection instruments, including all hardware and software.

· Policies and procedures for enrollment, collection, and refusal conversion.

1.5 Scope

The contractor shall provide data collection and processing services for BLS surveys in Federal government DCCs, with limited telework flexibility. The contractor shall engage in best efforts to perform activities which include but are not limited to the following:

a) Perform address refinement activities on sample cases, comprised of one or more establishments, provided by the government to verify and update case registry information, confirm the business is still operational, and identify a point of contact (POC) to receive enrollment packages prepared by the contractor. This activity ensures that the government has the most current sample unit contact information to successfully enroll participants into the survey.

b) Secure sample unit respondent participation in the survey, known as enrolling cases, to ensure consistent participation that is representative of the sample frame across all government-provided sample panels.

c) Contact refusal cases to attempt to convert them into respondents and increase respondent participation in the survey.

d) Contact enrolled respondents who report data via BLS’s proprietary Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) system on a monthly basis to collect reference month data and missing data from previous months, reviewing and addressing edit and screening errors flagged by the CATI system during the call with respondents.

e) Schedule dates and times to collect data with the respondent to collect data for the following month to increase the likelihood of successful collection.

f) Attempt to transition respondents to the government data collection website to streamline data collection and provide contractor staff with additional time to work on address refinement and enrollment.

g) Contact web respondents who did not submit data after receiving government-issued reminder emails to improve data collection rates.

h) Attempt to minimize collection by fax, email, and other means to reduce the risk of breaches and errors from manual data entry.

i) Contact respondents whose reported microdata failed edit and screening tests to obtain and enter corrected data or enter explanatory comment codes into the CATI system to either confirm the accuracy of or correct the data so they can be included in estimation.

The contractor shall provide quality control, training, and project management oversight to support contractor activities and ensure that acceptable quality levels are consistently met or exceeded.

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Period of 12 months and four (4) 12-month option periods:

Base Period: 01/26/2026 – 01/25/2027 Option Period 1: 01/26/2027 – 01/25/2028 Option Period 2: 01/26/2028 – 01/25/2029 Option Period 3: 01/26/2029 – 01/25/2030 Option Period 4: 01/26/2030 – 01/25/2031

The government reserves the right to extend the term of this contract action at the prices set forth in Section B in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in clause 52.217-9 entitled, “Option to Extend the Term of the Contract”.

1.7 General Information

1.7.1 Quality Control

The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which they assure themselves that their work complies with the requirement of the contract. At a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in the Performance Requirements Summary Matrix. After acceptance of the quality control plan, the contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer’s (CO) acceptance in writing of any proposed change to their Quality Control Plan.

1.7.2 Quality Assurance

The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract action in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s). The government will establish a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan for each task contained in this PWS.

1.7.3 Government Remedies

The Contracting Officer shall follow FAR 52.212-4, “Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items” or 52.246-4, “Inspection of Services-Fixed Price” for contractor’s failure to perform satisfactory services or failure to correct non-conforming services.

1.7.4 Recognized Holidays

The contractor is not authorized to perform work on recognized holidays without the prior approval of the Contracting Officer. Approved work performed on holidays or non-workdays shall be billable at regular rates.

· New Year’s Day

· Martin Luther King, Jr.

· Inauguration Day (Washington, DC area only)

· Washington’s Birthday

· Memorial Day

· Juneteenth

· Independence Day

· Labor Day

· Columbus Day

· Veterans Day

· Thanksgiving Day

· Christmas Day

1.7.5 Unscheduled Dismissals

Certain events, such as Executive Orders, inclement weather, or emergencies may result in the closure of a government facility. Contractor employees may be required to work on federal holidays as determined by the terms and conditions of their contract or task order.

• Contractor employees are required to work on dates considered holidays by Executive Orders, during inclement weather or emergencies, unless the contract terms and conditions authorize a paid holiday.

• If the government facility in which a contractor employee is scheduled to work is closed due to the holiday declared by Executive Order, inclement weather, or emergencies, and the employee is not required to report to work, payment will not be made for those hours if the subject contractor or task order is a Time and Materials type contract, e.g., a Labor Hour contract. Similarly, if the contract is of a Fixed Price nature, no deductions shall be made from the contract price for the holiday, inclement weather, or emergencies.

• The contractor employee shall abide by their employer’s stated policy on how to handle the closure of a contractor work site. For example, a contractor employee may be performing administrative functions or other non-critical duties in government-owned or controlled space under a task order issued under a Multiple Award Schedule contract. If an Executive Order creates a government holiday that closes the contractor employee’s duty station, the Government will not pay the contractor for that day, if the contract was awarded on a time or materials basis. (Whether the contractor employee is compensated by the employing contractor is a different matter).

• In the alternative, if a contractor was performing guard services in a federal building and a holiday, inclement weather, or emergency was declared, work performance would still be necessary. It is expected that the contract or task order would specifically address building protection in the case of these events.

• With respect to telecommuting, pursuant to FAR § 7.108, which implemented section 1428 of Public Law 108-136, an agency shall generally not discourage a contractor from allowing its employees to telecommute in the performance of government contracts. If telecommuting is not a viable option for performance under a contract or task order, the contracting officer shall make a pre-award determination stating that the requirements of the agency, including security requirements, cannot be met.

1.7.6 Hours of Operation

Please refer to the Place of Performance section below for the hours of operation. Hours of operation are subject to change by the government.

1.7.7 Place of Performance

The DCCs are located in Federal Government facilities in Atlanta, GA and Kansas City, MO. Limited telework flexibility is available under conditions listed in section 1.7.8. Both DCCs are responsible for cases nationwide. All employees must live within commuting distance of their respective DCCs.

Atlanta, GA 30303

Kansas City, MO 64108

The total number of workstations listed in the chart above includes cubicles and private offices available to contract staff at the DCCs and represents the maximum number of staff that can work at each DCC. Interviewer workstations are cubicles and supervisory workstations are typically in private offices, depending on availability. Interviewers are not allowed to use private offices. If additional funding and equipment become available, the maximum number of staff may be increased at the government’s discretion.

The government reserves the right to open new DCC locations and/or close existing DCC locations. In the event that DCCs are added or removed, workload will be redistributed across the DCCs according to workstation and staffing availability.

1.7.8 Telework

Telework flexibility is provided to the contractor. Only contractor staff with satisfactory performance shall be deemed eligible to telework. Contractor staff eligible to telework must conform to the requirements set forth as outlined by this PWS.

The contractor shall submit a Telework Plan for BLS approval that identifies metrics for how the contractor will deem interviewers as eligible to telework and determine which staff should be on site within a given day. The Telework Plan shall ensure that on-site staff be representative of the contractor’s staff and at a minimum include recent hires, trainers, low-performers in need of support, high-performers to provide mentoring and training, and enough supervisors on site to monitor interviewers working in federal facilities. Individual contractor staff who lack an adequate work environment (e.g., no suitable off-site workspace, or personal residence having inadequate Internet connection) shall be permitted to work on-site. Contractor staff who are determined to be eligible for telework but have a preference to work on-site shall be permitted to work on-site. The PM and contractor management team must rely on productivity data to demonstrate that contractor staff in a telework status are as productive as when they are working on-site in federal facilities. Telework in any location other than the contractor staff’s residence must be approved by the DCC Manager.

Contractor staff deemed eligible to telework under a Telework Plan approved by the government must complete the DOL Telework training requirements prior to being permitted to teleworking. Telework-eligible contractor staff must be within commuting distance of their physical work locations and must be available to be recalled into the office by the contractor with one business days’ notice. Contractor staff on a telework status who experience hardware or technical issues that cannot be addressed remotely shall report to the federal facility to have equipment repaired no later than the next business day when they are scheduled to work following the determination that technical issues must be resolved on-site. The contractor shall not be compensated for commute times for teleworking staff bringing their government-furnished equipment for troubleshooting or repairs.

The government may, at its discretion, limit the number of contractor staff permitted in the office at a given time, in which case the Telework Plan should be used to determine which contractor staff will be in a telework status. The government reserves the right to review the Telework Plan at its discretion and request changes. The government also reserves the right to rescind the Telework Plan and recall contractor staff into the office with five business days’ notice.

To ensure continuity of operations, the government may, at its discretion, require that all contracting staff telework on specified dates.

All teleworking sites must be documented and approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) prior to use. All telework sites must meet the security requirements described in the BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements.

1.7.9 Type of Contract

The government anticipates the award of a hybrid firm-fixed-price and labor hours contract. Project management, supervision, travel, and training are expected to be covered under a firm-fixed-price component. Interviewer categories are expected to be covered under a labor hours contract.

1.7.10 Security Requirements

a) Confidentiality and Security The contractor shall comply with the attached BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements (Attachment 2). Contractor personnel with access to BLS sensitive information must become agents of the BLS by signing a BLS Agent Agreement and completing BLS confidentiality training. The BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements, which include the Confidentiality Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act and the BLS Agent Agreement, can be found in Attachments A.1 and A.2, respectively.

b) Physical Security.

The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be physically secured.

c) Key Control.

The contractor shall establish and implement methods of making sure all keys/key cards issued to the contractor by the government are not lost or misplaced and are not used by unauthorized persons. NOTE: All references to keys include key cards. No keys issued to the contractor by the government shall be duplicated. The contractor shall develop procedures covering key control that shall be included in the Quality Control Plan. Such procedures shall include turn-in of any issued keys by personnel who no longer require access to locked areas. The contractor shall immediately report any occurrences of lost or duplicate keys/key cards to the Contracting Officer.

d) Lost Keys In the event keys, other than master keys, are lost or duplicated, the contractor shall, upon direction of the Contracting Officer, re-key or replace the affected lock or locks; however, the government, at its option, may replace the affected lock or locks or perform re-keying. When the government, the total cost of re-keying or the replacement of the lock, performs the replacement of locks or rekeying or locks shall be deducted from the monthly payment due the contractor. In the event a master key is lost or duplicated, the government and the total shall replace all locks and keys for that system cost deducted from the monthly payment due the contractor.

e) Key Use The contractor shall prohibit the use of government issued keys/key cards by any persons other than the contractor’s employees. The contractor shall prohibit the opening of locked areas by contractor employees to permit entrance of persons other than contractor employees engaged in the performance of assigned work in those areas, or personnel authorized entrance by the Contracting Officer.

f) Lock Combinations.

The contractor shall establish and implement methods of ensuring that not all lock combinations are revealed to unauthorized persons. The contractor shall ensure that lock combinations are changed when personnel having access to the combinations no longer have a need to know such combinations. These procedures shall be included in the contractor’s Quality Control Plan.

g) Conservation of Utilities.

The contractor shall instruct employees in utilities conservation practices. The contractor shall be responsible for operating under conditions that preclude the waste of utilities, which include turning off the water faucets or valves after using the required amount to accomplish cleaning vehicles and equipment.

1.7.11 Data Rights

The government has unlimited rights to all documents and materials produced under this contract. All documents and materials, to include the source codes of any software, produced under this contract shall be government owned and are the property of the government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the government. All materials supplied to the government will be the sole property of the government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other government rights.

1.7.12 Special Qualifications

Not applicable.

1.7.13 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings

The contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

1.7.14 Contracting Officer’s Representative

A COR will be delegated separately.

1.7.15 Key Personnel

The contractor shall identify the key personnel that will be responsible for managing the contract. The PM is considered key personnel for the contract. See 5.7.1 for PM requirements. The PM shall be the single point of contact for the management of this contract. The PM is responsible to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer (CO) for compliance with all the requirements of this contract. This is expected to be a full-time position.

The PM shall supervise and maintain a comprehensive management organization over staff working on this contract. A staff management plan delineating the lines of authority shall be maintained and provided to the COR on a quarterly basis. The PM must meet with the COR and other program officials no less than once per month to discuss issues related to the administration of the contract and actual performance on respective tasks. The contractor shall be available to attend attend in-person at the BLS National Office in Suitland, MD, for these virtual meetings at least once quarterly; other all meetings can be held by conference call or other virtual method. The contractor shall not remove or divert key personnel unless written notice is provided at least 30 business days prior to the removal. Furthermore, a replacement for the key personnel must be approved by the CO at least 10 business days prior to the removal to ensure business continuity and transfer of institutional knowledge.

In the event that any of the key personnel named in the contractor’s proposal, as accepted by the government, are unable to perform because of death, illness, resignation from the contractor’s employ, or other reasons, the contractor shall submit a written notice immediately to the CO. A detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any other information that the CO deems pertinent to approve the substitution shall be submitted to the CO as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after this initial written notification. No substitution is to be made without prior written approval by the CO. The PM is designated as Key Personnel.

1.7.16 Identification of Contractor Employees:

All contract personnel attending meetings, answering government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. Contractor personnel will be required to obtain Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards from a Government Services Administration credentialing center to access government facilities and networks.

1.7.17 Contractor Personnel Conduct

Contractor personnel’s conduct shall not reflect discredit upon the government. The contractor shall ensure that personnel present a professional appearance. The contractor’s employees shall observe and comply with all local policies and procedures posted at each site concerning fire, safety, environmental protection, sanitation, security, and possession of firearms or other lethal or illegal weapons or substances. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that any contractor employees providing services under this contract conduct themselves and perform services in a professional, safe, and responsible manner. The contractor shall ensure no contractor employees conduct political related activities or events in any government or government-leased facilities.

The contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, and local policies and procedures. The contractor shall be familiar with and use the versions/revisions currently in effect. The contractor shall comply with the policies and procedures set forth in all such documents.

1.7.18 Organizational Conflict of Interest

Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract action may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI), as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

1.7.19 Phase In/Phase Out Period

To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the contractor shall have personnel on board during the forty-five (45) day phase in/phase out periods. During the phase in period, the contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract action start date.

PART 2 – DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS

Contracting Officer’s Representative - A representative from the requiring activity assigned by the Contracting Officer to perform surveillance and to act as liaison to the contractor

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with it in the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Assurance - Those actions taken by the government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - an organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

Quality Control Management - Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

Best Effort - That effort expended by the contractor to perform within the awarded ceiling price all work specified in this acquisition and all other obligations under this acquisition. This effort includes providing required qualified personnel, properly supervised, and following industry accepted methodologies and other practices. The effort is further characterized by operating at all times with the government’s best interest in mind, using efficient and effective methods, and demonstrating sound cost control. The effort must be identical to the effort that would be expended if this were a firm-fixed price acquisition and the contractor’s profits were dependent upon reducing costs while meeting the government’s requirements in terms and quality and schedule. Failure to provide this required effort may result in the withholding of payment for hours expended that do not qualify as best effort or a reduction in the rate per hour to reflect decreased value of services received.

PART 3 – GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

3.1 General

The government will provide office space for the Data Collection Centers that includes office furniture (desks, chairs, and office storage), information technology (computers, printers, monitors, keyboards, and internet connections), normal office supplies (pens, paper, staplers, etc.), electronic fax services, internet, and telephone access. The government will provide headsets for teleworking.

3.2 Equipment

The government will not provide private desktop printers for the offices. The government will not provide additional equipment for home offices such as standing desks, additional keyboards, or monitors. The contractor shall be responsible for providing any equipment deemed necessary for reasonable accommodations approved for contractor staff.

The government will not provide office space for a project management office. The government will provide a laptop computer to the PM.

The government will retain title to all government-furnished property. All materials developed by the contractor under this contract shall become the property of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The government-furnished property and the materials developed by the contractor under this contract shall only be used for the performance of this contract.

The government will maintain all facilities and equipment that shall be provided for use by the contractor. Additionally, the contractor shall ensure that its personnel do not misuse any government-furnished property.

The government will provide CATI and Help Desk processing software.

If due to the default, negligence (whether of action or omission), or dishonesty of the contractor or its employees, or any combination of the prior activities, any government-owned or controlled property is lost or damaged as a result of the contractor’s performance of this contract, the contractor shall be responsible to the government for such loss or damage.

Any separating contractor staff shall return all equipment upon their last day including laptops, wired and wireless headsets and docking stations, and power cords for the laptops. After five workdays, if the equipment is not returned, the contractor shall replace it or pay for the replacement cost. The government at its option, may, in lieu of payment, require the contractor to replace at its own expense, all property lost or damaged. The contractor shall not provide computer hardware or software without approval from the government. The contractor shall provide a plan on how to reimburse the government for equipment lost or damaged by contractor staff.

3.3 Services

3.3.1 Utilities

The government will ensure all utilities in the facility will be available for the contractor’s use in performance of tasks outlined in this PWS.

3.3.2 Facilities

The government will furnish all necessary workspace required for contractors working onsite to support the effort(s) outlined in this PWS, to include desk space, telephones, computers and other items necessary to maintain an office environment.

PART 4 – CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4.1 General

Except for those items specifically stated to be government furnished in Part 3, the contractor shall furnish all other items required to perform the services in this PWS.

4.2 Clearance

The contractor’s employees, performing work in support of this contract action shall have undergone the DOL Department of Personnel Suitability and Security clearance process prior to onboarding.

PART 5 – SPECIFIC TASKS

The contractor shall provide for the program support activities to plan, monitor, and control work assignments to ensure that all work assignments are completed in a timely, cost effective, and highly competent manner. The integration and coordination of all activities needed to execute the task shall be timely, complete, and effective.

The following tasks must be conducted within the guidelines of the BLS Data Integrity document. For more information, please see Attachment 2 – Data Integrity Document.

Address Refinement And Enrollment

Multi-Modal Collection

Edit Reconciliation

Quality Control and Training

Project Management

5.1 Address Refinement and Enrollment

5.1.1 Address Refinement

a) The government will provide enrollment panels, containing business establishments that need to be enrolled into the JOLTS survey each month. A business establishment consists of a single location of an Unemployment Insurance (UI) account. The government will cluster UIs by Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and load the resulting cases into the government CATI system.

The contractor shall distribute cases to contractor staff using the government CATI system within 24 hours of the initial load of the new panel. For more information, please see Technical Exhibit 8 – JOLTS CATI System.

b) The government will provide case registry information that will usually contain the business name, FIPS, UI, Reporting Unit Number (RUN), EIN, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, and address. Point of contact (POC) information, including name and phone number, is sometimes provided to the contractor.

The contractor shall verify and update case registry information, confirm that the business is still operating, and call the establishment to identify a POC who will receive an electronic or physical survey enrollment package. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. No calls can be made from non–government furnished equipment. While working onsite, contractor staff must use government-designated telecommunication methods and protocols unless otherwise approved by the government. The contractor shall enter the POC information into the government CATI system. The contractor shall use the government CATI system to print forms.

c) The government will provide electronic or physical enrollment materials as needed. The contractor shall prepare physical enrollment packages as needed, including cover letter, form, brochures, and pocket folder, for mailing by assembling materials and stuffing envelopes. The contractor shall prevent confidentiality breaches by verifying that inserts for each envelope are only for one POC.

The government will provide pre-paid postage envelopes for all enrollment packages. The contractor shall deliver completed enrollment packages to a designated onsite location for mail pick-up.

5.1.2 Enrollment of New Sample

The contractor shall call the POC for the new enrollment case to verify physical address and/or email address. The contractor shall send POC and enrollment package and verify receipt. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. The contractor shall solicit survey participation, which will typically include the following steps:

· Explain the JOLTS survey

· Detail the scope of the survey request

· Answer respondent questions

· Verify UI number and RUN are correct for the Physical Location Address (PLA)

· Update respondent contact information

· Verify respondent email address

· Collect data for all JOLTS data elements that are available

· Determine if data are consistent with quarterly UI records, and

· Plan for future monthly collection

Survey enrollment typically requires multiple contacts to successfully convert a POC to a JOLTS respondent. The contractor shall make the necessary number of contacts to complete enrollment. The contractor shall work to convert initial refusals to productive cases before marking initial refusals as final refusals. The contractor shall identify another POC or transfer the case to a different interviewer, if necessary, in order to convert an initial refusal into a productive case. The contractor shall not enroll respondents into the CATI system without the respondent’s verbal commitment to provide microdata. The contractor shall document the authorizing official’s name and their agreement to participate within the CATI application.

5.1.3 Refusal Conversion

The government and the contractor will identify previous refusal cases that should be re-attempted for refusal conversion. Typically, this will be 6 months after initial refusal.

The contractor, working with the DCC Manager, shall distribute refusal conversion cases to contractor staff using the government CATI system. Interviewers should take the Refusal Aversion Training prior to engaging in refusal conversion activities. The contractor shall attempt to obtain survey participation from the cases selected for refusal conversion by following the steps for address refinement and enrollment.

5.1.4 Address Refinement and Enrollment Performance Measures

a) Quality Standards

The government will provide enrollment panels containing approximately 600 cases per month. The contractor must attempt contact with all respondents in enrollment panels.

The contractor shall perform address refinement duties on new cases within one calendar month and enrollment duties on new cases within a second calendar month.

b) Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)

The following rates are calculated based on the number of months from when a new panel is provided to the contractor. For more information on the calculation of these rates, please see Technical Exhibit 7 – JOLTS Performance Metrics Calculations.

c) Monitoring Method

The contractor is expected to monitor their performance throughout the performance period to ensure that AQLs are being met. BLS will be monitoring concurrently by generating reports monthly which will be discussed with the contractor at the monthly meetings.

The contractor PM and supervisory team shall monitor address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion activities by analyzing reports detailing performance metrics at the individual and collective levels. The contractor is expected to remediate address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion issues as they are identified to increase the likelihood that acceptable quality levels are met.

The government will be monitoring performance concurrently and notifying the contractor PM of any potential issues they have identified.

The contractor PM will meet with the COR and Government Task Manager on a monthly basis to review address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion, discuss challenges, and identify improvements for future attempts.

5.2 Multi-Modal Collection

The contractor shall collect monthly JOLTS data utilizing approved program methods. The contractor shall collect data at the earliest time they are available from each respondent. The contractor shall collect these data according to the JOLTS production schedule with the goal of maximizing collection by JOLTS 1st Closing. The contractor shall collect data that were not available by JOLTS 1st Closing as soon as they become available, preferably before JOLTS 2nd Closing.

The contractor shall work with respondents during the initial three-month CATI collection period with the goal of preparing the respondent for a successful transition to web reporting. The contractor shall use this three-month period to effectively train the respondent on providing accurate and timely data in preparation for moving the respondent to web reporting. The contractor shall work to minimize the number of respondents that transition to fax reporting, email reporting, or remain on permanent CATI, which should be reserved only for respondents that are unable or unwilling to submit data using the government data collection website.

The contractor shall ensure that respondent contact information remains current. If the respondent is no longer available at the establishment, the contractor shall identify and enroll a new respondent. The contractor shall verify the UI number and RUN for each case at least annually. The contractor shall document in the CATI system if the establishment has been part of a merger, acquisition or experienced any other major structural change.

The government will provide updates, when applicable, to FIPS, UI, and RUN information. These changes typically consist of updates to the UI number and RUN, or changes to NAICS industry code. When needed, the contractor shall confirm these updates with the respondent and ensure that data reported match the updated UI and RUN information.

5.2.1 CATI Collection

The government will provide a CATI system designed specifically for JOLTS collection. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. For more information, please see Technical Exhibit 8 – JOLTS CATI System.

The government will email monthly reminders, based on the respondent’s preference, to CATI respondents specifying the previously agreed upon date for collection.

The contractor shall call respondents that have agreed to participate in the JOLTS survey to collect all data elements for the current month and any missing data for previous months. The contractor shall enter data provided by the respondent into the government CATI system.

The contractor shall review and address edit & screening errors flagged by the National Office or the CATI system. The contractor shall verify the data with the respondent and either correct it or address it by entering an appropriate comment code and documenting their activity in the notes section.

The contractor shall schedule with the respondent a date and time for collecting data for the subsequent month and enter this date and time into the government CATI system. The contractor shall attempt to schedule future collection so that data can be collected before the next month’s JOLTS 1st closing.

The government will provide a notes template used to record all pertinent information about all contacts with respondents. The contractor shall enter notes in the government CATI system based on this template.

During the initial three-month period of CATI collection, the contractor shall prepare respondents for a transition to reporting data via the government provided Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF) or data collection website. The contractor shall collect and enter a valid email address into the government CATI system. The contractor shall provide detailed information to the respondent on entering data on the BLS data collection website.

Although respondents are eligible for self-reporting via web after three months, this period may fluctuate depending on the respondent’s reporting proficiency. Participants must report for three consecutive months without generating any screening errors or national office data verification requests. This could be the three consecutive months immediately after enrollment or three consecutive months later during their reporting tenure. Some JOLTS respondents have experience with JOLTS web reporting from prior requests. For these cases, the contractor shall determine if the respondent is capable of a conversion to web reporting on an accelerated schedule (i.e. prior to three months of CATI reporting). Further, the contractor shall be responsive to those, both experienced and inexperienced in JOLTS web reporting, who would otherwise become final refusals if not converted to web reporting. In all cases, the contractor shall always ensure that a respondent has provided data by CATI for at least one month and fully understands the survey request before being converted to web reporting. The contractor shall work to minimize these accelerated web conversions and reserve them only for situations when it is a necessity to maintain a productive respondent.

The contractor shall collect data by fax, email, or permanent CATI from respondents who are unable or unwilling to report by web. For these cases, the contractor shall document in the case notes why the respondent will report by fax, email, or permanent CATI and not by web.

5.2.2 Web Collection

The government will provide and operate an Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF) or data collection website. The government will provide all hardware, software and technical staff to support the data collection website. The government will develop updates, both major and minor, to the data collection website. For more information, please see Technical Exhibit 9 – JOLTS Data Collection Website or Internet Data Collection Facility.

During initial rollover of a unit to web collection, the government will email the respondent with the web letter embedded in the body of the email explaining the web process and a link to the instructions for web collection. For respondents who insist on receiving the instructions via mail, a traditional web rollover package may be sent to them. Note: these forms are used by web respondents as reference and not used for actual data submission.

The government will send monthly email reminders to web respondents. The current schedule for sending these emails is listed in the chart below. The government may alter this schedule in the future, based on either internal or external research, with the goal of improving web response.

The contractor shall place Non-Response Prompt (NRP) telephone calls to web respondents who did not submit data after receiving reminder emails. This should occur during the week leading up to JOLTS 1st closing.