1605C5-25-R-00007-0002_093025.docx

SECTION B – SF 1449 CONTINUATION PAGE

B - Supplies or Services and Prices C - Description/specifications/Performance Work Statement Performance Work Statement (PWS I - Contract Clauses J - List of attachments K – Representations and Certifications L - Instructions, conditions, and notices to offerors or respondents M - Evaluation Factors for Award

B - Supplies or Services and Prices Supplies or Services and Prices FAR 22.1002-2 Wage determinations based on prevailing rates.

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 EDI Center Operations. FAR 22.1002-2 Wage determinations based on prevailing rates.

B.2 LABOR RATES

All proposed rates represent the contractor’s fully burdened rates for each skill classification for work to be performed.

C - Description/specifications/Performance Work Statement Performance Work Statement (PWS) Part 1 - General Information

1.1 Mission

To collect and process large, multiple establishment–employers’ confidential employment, hour, and wage data for two major Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) programs that measure the health of the U.S. economy.

1.2 Description of Services/Introduction

The purpose of this contract is to collect MWR, RFEW, and CES data through the Electronic Data Interchange Center. The contractor shall provide data collection and processing services for the government EDI Center staff at the EDI Center in the BLS Chicago Regional Office. The contractor shall process large multi-establishment corporate reports for the MWR, RFEW, and CES. Additionally, the contractor shall provide quality control, training, and project management for contractor operations at the EDI Center.

The contractor shall keep appropriate records and notes of all data transmissions (sample Firm Notes are referenced in Appendixes B, C, and D). The contractor shall process the data through government provided editing programs and conduct necessary follow-up to resolve data discrepancies. MWR, RFEW, and CES data may be received via several different electronic means. In addition to microdata-level review, the contractor shall check to make sure the microdata file passes basic macro-level checks like completeness of the aggregation, correct reference month or quarter, and summary-level data item reasonability. The contractor shall transfer all information to the local export tables for the government to export.

Other than processing files for large multi-establishment corporations, the EDI Center is responsible for collecting federal employment and wage data. The EDI Center also processes accounts for Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs). A PEO is a firm that performs human resources and payroll services for businesses in an arrangement known as co-employment. Files submitted by PEOs include all of their client businesses, which tend to be more dynamic than traditional firms (i.e. individual businesses join and exit PEOs at a fairly high frequency). The programmer positions in the EDI Center develop, test, implement, and operate processing systems. They also develop programs to translate company-supplied data formats into the government standard input formats, develop and maintain the center intranet site, and manage information needed for center operations.

Each month the EDI Center processes approximately 100 CES firms with approximately 500,000 records. Each quarter approximately 270 MWR/RFEW firms are processed with approximately 800,000 records. Refer to Appendix A for historical data on number of QCEW firms processed per quarter and number of CES firms processed per month. BLS staff process a portion of these firms and the contractor staff process the remaining firms that are assigned by the government. Specific tasks and deliverables covered by this work statement are listed below.

1.3 Background

BLS is pursuing a contract to outsource Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Center operations to a contractor.

The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Center in Chicago focuses on collecting employment, hours, earnings, and wage information from large, multiple establishment companies with locations in multiple states. These raw data are transmitted from firms to the EDI Center as electronic files. The EDI Center reviews, edits, and then transmits processed data to either the states or federal government. The EDI Center collects data for two Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) programs, Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

1.3.1 Current Employment Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data each month on employment, hours, and earnings from a sample of nonfarm establishments through the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey includes about 122,000 businesses and government agencies, which cover approximately 666,000 individual worksites drawn from a sampling frame of Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax accounts covering roughly 11.0 million establishments. The active CES sample includes approximately one-third of all nonfarm payroll employees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. From these data, a large number of employment, hours, and earnings series in considerable industry and geographic detail are prepared and published each month.

The CES survey collects the following data elements from business establishments:

· All employees (AE)

· Women Employees (WE)

· Production and Nonsupervisory Employees (PE)

· AE Payroll

· AE Hours

· AE Commissions (paid at least once per month)

· AE Overtime Hours (manufacturing only)

· PE Payroll

· PE Hours

· PE Commissions (paid at least once per month)

· PE Overtime Hours (manufacturing only) The primary statistics derived from the CES survey are monthly estimates of employment, hours, and earnings for the nation, states, and major metropolitan areas. Preliminary national estimates for a given reference month are typically released on the third Friday after the conclusion of the reference period in conjunction with data derived from a separate survey of households, the Current Population Survey (CPS). The reference period for the CES survey is the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. For more information on the CES production schedule, please see Appendix I- CES Closing Date Calendar.

The CES central collection option (which requires just one transmittal per month) encourages large employers, who may have refused in the past to complete the CES in all or some states, to begin reporting their data at the worksite level. Companies submit their data to the EDI Center using a 350-position ASCII record format. The formats are coordinated so those data elements common to both programs have common definitions, format locations, and lengths.

Each month the EDI Center processes approximately 100 large CES firms, with approximately 500,000 incoming records. The EDI Center is responsible for over half of all reports collected (55%). The remaining 45% of reports collected by CATI, web, and other methods, at the government’s four CES Data Collection Centers come from data received from approximately 122,000 businesses and government agencies.

For more information on CES, please visit https://www.bls.gov/ces/.

1.3.2 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program is a cooperative program involving the BLS and the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). The QCEW program produces a comprehensive tabulation of employment and wage information for workers covered by state unemployment insurance (UI) laws and federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. The QCEW program serves as a near census of monthly employment and quarterly wage information by six-digit NAICS industry at the national, state, and county levels.

The BLS developed the central collection of the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) and the Report of Federal Employment and Wages (RFEW) data to streamline the process of data collection from large employers and clients of payroll outsourcing firms. With the opening of the EDI Center in February 1995, multi-state employers have the option of submitting their data for all states to one location instead of multiple state agencies.

The MWR and the RFEW are key components of this program. The MWR asks most multi-location employers to provide employment and wage data for all of their establishments covered under one Unemployment Insurance (UI) account in a state. Most multi-location employers with a total of 10 or more employees combined in their secondary locations are required or requested to complete the MWR. The Multiple Worksite Report is designed to collect information showing the distribution of the employment and wages of business establishments by industry and geographic area. Information on the MWR form is used to more accurately classify employment and wage data of multiple establishment employers by industry and by location within a state. The RFEW allows the QCEW program to obtain worksite level information from federal agencies and reporting agents for federal employers.

The MWR central collection option (which requires just one transmittal per quarter) encourages large employers, who may have refused in the past to complete the MWR or RFEW in all or some states, to begin reporting their data at the worksite level. Companies submit their data to the EDI Center using a 350-position ASCII record format. The formats are coordinated so those data elements common to both programs have common definitions, format locations, and lengths.

Each quarter the EDI Center processes approximately 270 QCEW firms, with approximately 800,000 incoming records. Refer to Appendix A for historical data on number of QCEW firms processed per quarter. The EDI Center is responsible for approximately 25% of all MWR and RFEW records collected, representing 15% of all MWR and RFEW employers. The remaining 75% of MWR and RFEW records are collected by other methods not included in this contract.

For more information on QCEW, please visit https://www.bls.gov/cew.

The contractor shall provide all personnel and supervision to provide non-personal services necessary to perform Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 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.

1.4 Objectives

The contractor shall provide data collection and processing services at the government facility in Chicago, IL.. The contractor shall process data from large, multiple establishment companies with locations in multiple states. These raw data are transmitted from firms to the EDI Center as electronic files. The contractor staff shall review, edit, and then transmit processed data to either the states or federal government.

1.5 Scope

The contractor shall provide data collection and processing services for BLS surveys in the EDI Center in Chicago, IL. The contractor shall perform activities which include but are not limited to the following processing services:

a) Retrieve files (monthly for CES, quarterly for QCEW) for firms assigned to the contractor and place them in the appropriate location with the required naming convention, taking note and following government-provided procedures when the files are delayed.

b) Follow pre-processing procedures as noted in firm notes and load files into pre-processing system.

c) Process the files relying on procedures and checklists developed by the government. The procedures include resolving all new units, all edit and screening errors, and changes in administrative information such as firm name, address, and other identifying information.

d) Follow post-processing procedures, which include but are not limited to updating firm notes based on new information and changes to processing steps identified during processing, entering firm processing data metrics into the EDI website, updating the EDI website with any changes in firm administrative information.

e) Respond to any file or data issues that arise during processing and pre-processing using established procedures, contact respondents for incomplete or missing information, and answering questions from the states or government, making changes requested by states within the government-designated timeframes.

f) Write programs to reformat firm-supplied data into standard data formats, while developing and maintaining technical documentation and user manuals for any systems developed in-house.

g) Evaluate program enhancements for systems redesign and develop, test, and implement new data processing systems.

h) Develop and maintain the EDI Center intranet web site.

i) Troubleshoot and resolve systems problems identified by the government and formulate recommendations on complex technical problems, as well as provide recommendations on software and hardware changes when needed.

j) Resolve tickets related to information technology issues expeditiously.

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

1.6 Period of Performance:

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

a) Phase-In periods are not to exceed 45 calendar days.

b) The base periods will begin on March 9, 2026.

c) Kick-off meetings will take place shortly after award.

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 he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the contract. At a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in each task’s 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 his QC system. Please refer to each task for information on when the quality control plans are to be delivered to BLS.

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 contractor and the government will collaborate and agree upon 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 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Inauguration Day (Washington, DC area only) Washington’s Birthday Good Friday* Memorial Day Juneteenth National Independence Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

*While Good Friday is not a federally recognized holiday, it is a required paid holiday under wage determinations for Chicago.

1.7.5 Unscheduled Dismissals

In the event that the government facility closes, on-site contractor personnel working under this contract shall be dismissed, unless approved by the Contracting Officer. In any situation regarding unscheduled dismissal and/or the closure of government offices, thecontractor shall not be compensated for lost hours. In the event extraordinary conditions require continued contractor work when government offices are closed, at the specific request of the Government EDI Center Manager, and with the approval of the CO, the contractor shall provide sufficient personnel for work activities. Such work shall be compensated at the normal contractual rate.

On occasion, the government facility remains open, but contractor staff are unable to work due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., IT downtime, building maintenance issues). Should those situations arise, the Government EDI Center Manager has the discretion to offer contractor staff the opportunity to telework for the remainder of the day. Contractor staff who elect to work from alternate locations on those days will not be compensated for their commuting time from the federal government facility to the alternate work locations.

1.7.6 Hours of Operation

The hours of operation are from 6:00am to 6:30pm. Hours of operation are subject to change by the government. The hours of operation are the times where the facility is available to contractor staff; the contractor is not expected to staff the location for the entire duration of the hours of operation.

1.7.7 Place of Performance

The EDI Center is located in a government-owned facility in Chicago, IL.

Contractor staff in the Computer Programmer 1 and Computer Programmer 2 positions may telework from any location in the continental United States. The government will not pay for any travel expenses incurred by these contractor staff.

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 by BLS.

The contractor shall submit a Telework Plan for BLS approval that identifies metrics for how the contractor will deem analysts 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 analysts 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 contract 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 contractor staff’s residence must be approved by the Government EDI Center 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 day’s 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.

The government may, at its discretion, require that all contracting staff telework on specified dates to ensure preparedness for continuity of operations.

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 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. Analyst 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. Contractor personnel performing work in support of this contract action shall have undergone the DOL Department of Personnel Suitability and Security clearance process prior to onboarding. 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.

1.7.11 Special Qualifications Not applicable

1.7.12 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 data gathered, retrieved, processed, and transmitted on behalf of the government wholly belongs to the government; the contractor may not use, transfer, access or use the data for private profit for any reason beyond the scope of this requirement. 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.

1.7.13 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 Project Manager (PM) is considered key personnel for the contract. The PM shall be the single point of contact for the management of this contract. The PM responds to the COR and the CO for compliance with all the requirements of this contract. Historically, this has been a part-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. These 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 Project Manager 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-owned or government-leased facilities.

The contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, and local policies and procedures. The contractor shall adhere to and use the versions/revisions 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 - Definition & 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. An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

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

Part 3 - Government Furnished Property, Equipment, And Services

3.1 General

The government will provide office space 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 not provide office space for a project management office.

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 (DOL).

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.

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.

3.4 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 Not Applicable Part 5 - Specific Tasks The contractor shall 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. Acceptable Quality Levels and evaluation frequency can be found in Technical Exhibit 1 – Performance Requirements Summary.

The following tasks must be conducted within the guidelines of the BLS Data Integrity document. For more information, please see Attachment A.3 – Data Integrity document.

5.1 QCEW Tasks

5.1.1 File Retrieval

a) Requirements The government will provide a list of firms to be processed by the contractor. The contractor shall assign firms to the appropriate level contractor analysts.

The contractor shall create the appropriate firm folder on the EDI Server per firm notes. The government will provide the contractor with the input files and initial firm notes. Input files will be in the format of an Excel spreadsheet or text file. Sample firm notes are provided in Technical Exhibits 6, 7, and 8. The government reserves the right to have the input file in another type of file format.

The contractor will receive notification the file is available. The contractor shall retrieve the firm file from the appropriate location: Email, FTP server, or Web upload server. The government reserves the right to change the method of file transmittal.

The contractor shall copy and paste the firm file to the appropriate firm folder on the EDI Server and name it based on the government file-naming convention as noted in the Firm Notes referenced in Technical Exhibits 6, 7, and 8. If the file is late arriving, the contractor shall contact the firm respondent via email as noted in firm notes. If the file is more than one week late from the due date, the contractor shall notify the Government EDI Center Manager. The government will provide the contractor a schedule of due dates. The 2023 QCEW Processing calendar is located in Technical Exhibit 13.

5.1.2 Pre-Processing

a) Requirements The contractor shall create the appropriate firm processing status which consists of entering the proper year and quarter on the EDI Website in SPIFF Pre-Processing system.

The contractor shall follow pre-processing procedures noted in firm notes and load specified file into SPIFF pre-processing system

(see sample pre-processing procedures in firm notes in Technical Exhibits 6, 7, and 8.) The contractor shall address any file or data issues, including comparing aggregated data to prior quarters to check for reasonableness.

The contractor analysts shall address any firm note issues.

The contractor shall copy and paste SPIFF file outputs into assigned firm folder. The government reserves the right to change the method of file transmittal or output.

5.1.3 Processing

a) Requirements The contractor PM will meet with the COR and Government EDI Center Manager on a monthly basis to review pre-processing, discuss challenges, and identify improvements for future attempts.

The contractor shall input the SPIFF Load file into SLED processing system and begin following the government established processing procedures as noted on the government standard checklist located in Technical Exhibit 10. Processing includes resolving all new units, missing units, employment and wage changes, and all changes in administrative information like firm name, address and other identifying information. The contractor shall address any file or data issues.

The contractor shall process pre-edits. At the pre-edits module the contractor shall resolve all issues following the established government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process new units in two steps: crosswalk error module and new units module. At the crosswalk error module the contractor shall assign UI number and RUN. At the new units module the contractor shall assign NAICS, county, town, and appropriate comment code. The contractor shall determine the NAICS code using firm notes, government tools, internet research, and prior experience.

The contractor shall validate RUN aggregations and correct all errors in aggregation based upon established government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall verify that the SINGLE RUN does not meet the MWR requirements as established in government procedures indicated in the singles module in Technical Exhibit 10. The contractor shall update the RUN in the crosswalk if the SINGLE RUN does meet the MWR requirement.

The contractor shall process missing units according to the missing units module of the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process employment and wage edits according to checklist in Technical Exhibit 10. Processing employment and wage edits consists of comparing current employment and wages to employment and wages from previous quarters. The contractor shall add a comment code to records that fail employment and wages edits as indicated by SLED. Comment code usage is based on firm notes.

The contractor shall process the closed worksite review module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. Processing the closed worksite review module consists of running the SLED generated closed worksite review report and resolving all issues following government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process PEO Client Data Processing Module and correct all errors based upon established government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10. The contractor shall process the employment warnings module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. Processing the employment warnings module consists of running the SLED generated employment warnings report and resolving all issues following government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process predecessor/ successor module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. A predecessor/ successor event involves documenting the movement of worksite(s) from one UI account to another UI account.

The contractor shall process the post aggregation singles module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. Processing the post aggregation singles module consists of running the SLED generated post aggregation report and resolving all issues following government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process the non-employment/non-wage module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. Processing the non-employment/non-wage module consists of running the SLED generated non-employment/ non-wage report and resolving all issues following government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

The contractor shall process the detail edits module according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 10 following government procedures. Processing the detail edits module consists of running the SLED generated detail edits report and resolving all issues following government procedures referenced in the QCEW Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 10.

5.1.4 Post-Processing

a) Requirements The contractor PM will meet with the COR and Government EDI Center Manager on a monthly basis to review processing, discuss challenges, and identify improvements for future attempts.

The contractor shall update firm notes based on any new information and changes to processing steps found during quarterly processing.

When all processing procedures are completed, the contractor shall enter all firm processing data metrics into the EDI website. The government will provide a checklist of procedures on how to enter firm processing data metrics. See Technical Exhibit 11 for a sample of the checklist and firm processing data metrics on the EDI website.

The contractor shall update the EDI website with any changes to firm name, address, telephone number, changes to firm point of contact, and address information.

5.2 CES Tasks

5.2.1 File Retrieval

a) Requirements The contractor shall assign firms to the appropriate level contractor staff. The government will provide a list of firms to be processed by the contractor. CES firm files are processed monthly.

The contractor shall create the appropriate firm folder on the EDI Server per firm notes. Government will provide the contractor with the input files and initial firm notes. Input files will be in the format of an Excel spreadsheet or text file. Sample firm notes are provided in Technical Exhibits 6, 7, and 8. The government reserves the right to provide files in another type of file format.

The contractor shall receive notification when the file is available. The contractor shall retrieve the firm file from the appropriate location: Email, FTP server, or Web upload server. The government reserves the right to change the method of file transmittal.

The contractor shall copy and paste the firm file to the appropriate firm folder on the EDI Server and name it based on government file-naming convention. If a file is late arriving, the contractor shall contact the firm respondent via email as noted in firm notes. If the file continues to be delinquent, the contractor shall follow government procedures. The government will provide to the contractor a schedule of due dates.

5.2.2 Pre-Processing

a) Requirements The contractor PM will meet with the COR and Government EDI Center Manager on a monthly basis to review file retrieval, discuss challenges, and identify improvements for future attempts. The contractor shall create the appropriate firm processing status which consists of entering the proper year and month on the EDI Website in SPIFF Pre-Processing system.

The contractor shall follow pre-processing procedures noted in firm notes and load specified file into SPIFF pre-processing system (see sample pre-processing procedures in firm notes in Technical Exhibits 6, 7, and 8). The contractor shall address any file or data issues including comparing aggregated data to prior months to check for reasonableness with supervisor or government staff.

The contractor shall address any firm notes issues.

The contractor shall copy and paste SPIFF file outputs into appropriate firm folder.

5.2.3 Processing

a) Requirements The contractor PM will meet with the COR and Government EDI Center Manager on a monthly basis to review pre-processing, discuss challenges, and identify improvements for future attempts.

The contractor shall load SPIFF Load file into the COMET processing system and begin following government established processing procedures as noted on the government standard checklist located in Technical Exhibit 9. Procedures include resolving all new units, all edit and screening errors, and all changes in administrative information like firm name, address and other identifying information. The contractor analyst shall address any file or data issues.

The contractor shall assign new units a Report Number according to firm notes and the established government procedures referenced in the CES Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 9. Note that some report numbers are temporary report numbers. Processing the new units module consists of running the COMET generated new units report, and resolving all issues following the government procedures referenced in the CES Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 9.

The contractor shall process the edits and screening errors according to the checklist in Technical Exhibit 9 following the government procedures. Processing the edit and screening errors module consists of running the COMET generated edit and screening report, the Failed Reporter Count report, and resolving all edit and screening errors following the government firm notes and procedures. See Technical Exhibit 12 for an example of a Failed Reporter Count report.

5.2.4 Post-Processing

a) Requirements The contractor shall update firm notes based on any new information and changes to processing steps found during monthly processing.

When all processing procedures are completed, the contractor shall enter all firm processing data metrics into the EDI website. The government will provide a checklist of procedures on how to enter firm processing data metrics. See Technical Exhibit 11 for a sample of the checklist and firm processing data metrics on the EDI website.

The contractor shall update the EDI website with any changes to firm name, address, telephone number, changes to firm point of contact, and address information.

The contractor shall review the COMET Registry for updates following the government procedures referenced in the CES Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 9.

The contractor shall process the CONES file following the government procedures referenced in the CES Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 9.

The contractor shall process the Benchmark file following the government procedures referenced in the CES Processing Checklist in Technical Exhibit 9.

5.3 Questions and Firm Follow-Up

a) Requirements The contractor shall address any file or data issues that arise during pre-processing or processing using established EDI procedures. File or data issues involved in firm follow-up will often come in the form of less than ten On-track tickets per month.

The contractor shall answer state and government questions and also make state changes within government-designated timeframes and by deadlines.

The contractor shall contact respondents for incomplete or missing information.

5.4 Programming

a)…