36C10X20R0022-0001003.docx

ATTACHMENT F: SAMPLE TASK ORDER

TASK ORDER NUMBER: 0001

TASK ORDER TITLE: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Services

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 1 year

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Within the United States as well as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Contractor’s may offer to hold sessions at their space when it is in the best interest of the parties, with Government approval, provided it is at no additional cost to the Government. When requested by the Government parties, ORM may approve teleconferencing or videoconferencing.

1.0 STATEMENT OF WORK

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Resolution Management (ORM) has the responsibility for providing a variety of services and programs to prevent, resolve and process EEO complaints, work-place mediations and Facilitations. Chapter 3 of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 110 strongly encourages agencies to utilize Contract Neutral services from outside Vendors. It further states an agency may use neutrals for its ADR (Alternate Dispute Resolution) program, subject to their qualifications, from other federal agencies (through a federal neutral sharing program or other arrangement); or private organizations, private contractors, bar associations, or individual volunteers.

A neutral is defined as an impartial third party, whether a coach, facilitator, or mediator who assists the parties to identify issues, foster joint problem-solving, and explore mutually acceptable outcomes. The neutral is not a decision-maker and does not have the power to impose a decision on either party. Neutrals are individuals who should have no bias towards or against either party to a dispute or a relationship to either party that would present a conflict of interest.

1. SCOPE

The scope of this requirement is for ADR neutrals for ADR services related to workplace disputes, EEO complaints, and facilitations for the VA. The contractor shall provide Neutrals to facilitate, mediate, or coach to assist parties to identify issues, foster joint problem-solving, and explore mutually acceptable outcomes. The Office of Resolution Management (ORM) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing VA’s Workplace ADR Program. Mediation is the primary ADR process used at VA to address disputes either prior to or during administrative processes such as the EEO complaint process and negotiated grievance procedure. ORM offers guidance and support to ADR programs throughout VA. Workplace ADR staff can assist Administrations in designing, implementing, and improving programs at their facilities, regions, and networks, to include assisting with obtaining neutrals, marketing, and training.

B. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS AND REGULATIONS

1. The Administrative Dispute Resolutions Acts (ADRA) of 1996

2. Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators www.adr.gov/pdf/final_manual.pdf

3. VA Directive 5978 - Alternative Dispute Resolution

4. 29 CFR Part 1614

5. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Management Directive 110

6. Executive Order 13101 - September 14, 1998, “Greening the Government through Waste prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition”

7. Executive Order 13123 - June 3, 1999, “Greening the government through Efficient Energy Management”

8. Executive Order 13221 - July 31, 2001, “Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices” Resource Conservation and recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.)

C. MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

Task 1: Kick-Off Meeting The Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) has held a kick-off meeting or the Contracting Officer (CO) has advised the Contractor that the meeting requirement has been waived. A kick-off meeting shall be held virtually within five business days of award. Participants will include key contractor personnel, VA contracting personnel, and appropriate ORM staff, to include the COR and program manager.

The contractor shall provide a list of Kickoff attendees names and roles two (2) business days after award.

Task 2: ADR Services The contractor shall complete a minimum 50 ADR service requests, such as mediation, facilitation, group facilitation, conflict coaching, and training, for purposes of resolving workplace disputes and equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaints within VA for those seeking mediation and facilitation. The Contractor shall provide sufficiently trained and qualified personnel, located throughout the U.S. and territories to minimize travel cost. The Contractor shall make every effort to provide a neutral that is within 50 miles of the requested location. The assigned neutral shall provide pre-mediation coordination upon assignment. The ADR processes can last several hours or several days and may require follow-up sessions. All requested sessions shall occur between the hours of 8am and 5pm local time for the parties. No sessions shall occur on Federal holidays. The ten (10) Federal holidays set by law (5 U.S.C. §6103) that are followed by the VA:

Task 2.1: Neutral Request and Assignment

A Neutral is an independent third party to a dispute who: (1) has no stake or interest in its outcome; and (2) functions specifically to aid the parties in resolving the dispute; but (3) has no authority to decide the dispute. Upon receipt of “U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Resolution Management Contract ADR Services Request Form (See Attachment A) for non-VA Neutrals, the Contractor shall assign a neutral and inform the Government via email to ADRContractsrequest@va.gov. The Contractor will also provide the name, address, phone number, and email address of the assigned neutral within two to three business days for COR’s review and approval. If there are any issues with the assigned neutral, the Contractor shall respond with a new neutral within two business days of a request for reassignment. This referral shall be a qualified neutral that is in the closest proximity to the requested site. The ORM Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) must be contacted in advance via email when there is not a neutral available within the 50-miles of the local commuting area for approval. Once approval has been received, the Contractor shall assign a neutral outside of the local commuting area. All assigned cases that will result in travel costs must be pre-approved and authorized by the ORM COR.

A final list of all qualified neutrals, resumes, and certifications shall be submitted within 10 calendar days of task order award. This list shall be updated monthly, and included in the monthly progress report, highlighting any changes in staffing and emailed to the COR no later than the 10th of each month.

The monthly progress shall also include should include Tracking No#, Complainant Name, ADR# or EEO Case# Invoice #, Mediator Assigned, Date of ADR and status of request.

NOTE TO OFFEROR: A list of all neutrals with training, certifications, resumes, and location must be submitted with the proposal along with offeror’s mandated training requirements for assigned neutrals.

Task 2.2 Pre-Mediation Coordination The Contractor neutral shall contact the designated ADR Program Manager – Point of Contact (ADR-POC) and COR via email within two business days of assignment to coordinate scheduling of the ADR session. Should the neutral be unable to accommodate the date provided by the ADR POC, the contractor shall be responsible to provide the VA another neutral for the ADR case and notify the COR within 24 hours of replacement.

Shall the Government have a need to cancel the mediation, the contractor will be notified within 48 hours of the Governments notification.

Task 3: During- and Post-Session The neutral will use forms provided by the COR for the ADR session— such as the Agreement to Mediate and Confidentiality Agreement (Attachment B.1 and B.2) that is used before the process to agree to mediate. If an agreement is reached the Settlement Agreement Templates (Attachment C.1 and C.2) are utilized with information provided by the neutral after the completion of the mediation. The Settlement agreement template is sent to the ADR Coordinator POC for final completion. The Mediation Participant Assessment (Attachment D) and Co-Mediator Evaluation (VA Form 8090C) (Attachment E), if applicable. Forms are return to the COR by email at ADRContractrequest@va.gov. The neutral will serve as a scribe and assist the parties in crafting any Settlement Agreement reached through ADR sessions. The neutral shall not retain any documents related to the ADR sessions. Documents from parties provided during session to include hand written notes from neutrals outlining settlement agreements shall be provided to VA POC. Any unrelated handwritten notes shall be destroyed. To capture performance, the Government shall provide the vendor with the current performance metrics expected for resolution rates and customer satisfaction, consistent with the metrics for Government Neutrals.

GOVERNMENT METRICS

Max 95% Exceptional

3.1 During and Post-sessions -The neutral shall submit originals of all forms signed or completed by the parties to the ADR POC within two calendar days of completion of the ADR process.

3.2 The Government requires the contractor to provide monthly performance reports that will include ADR resolution rates based on resolved request, participant satisfaction ratings, any issues, and action plan to correct deficiencies.

D. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

As outlined in the IDIQ

E. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

As outlined in the IDIQ

F. TRAVEL

Travel maybe required and all travel must be authorized in advance by the Contracting Officer and will be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations. When billing for travel, all invoices shall include mileage maps, hotel receipts, rental or other form transportation.

G. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES

No GFE/GFI will be issued to the contractor.

H. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

a. All neutrals utilized by the Contractor will adhere to the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators issued by the American Arbitration Association, American Bar Association, and the Association for Conflict Resolution. https://americanassociationofmediators.org/standards/

b. All neutrals utilized by the Contractor will adhere to the confidentiality provisions of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA). (The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 Pub. Law 104-320 https://www.adr.gov/pdf/adra.pdf

c. The Contractor shall assign personnel that by education and experience are qualified to provide services identified in the SOW. The Contractor shall maintain the personnel, organization, and administrative control necessary to ensure that the work delivered meets the Contract specifications and requirements. Personnel assigned to, or utilized by, the Contractor in performance of work shall be fully capable of performing the contemplated functions of the respective labor categories in an efficient, reliable, and professional manner

Key Personnel: Certain skilled experience professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. These individuals are defined as “Key Personnel.” Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with “Substitution of Key Personnel” provision identified below.

At least 3 years of this experience should be with Federal agencies. At least 2 years of this experience should include using evaluative approaches in mediating EEO complaints.

d. Contractor employees are subject to immediate removal from performance on this contract if the contractor support personnel are involved in a violation of the law, VA security, confidentiality requirements, and/or other disciplinary reasons. The contractor must inform ORM when personnel are removed from this contract for any reason.

e. Contractor personnel shall comply with the agency and office dress code. Contractor shall always be easily recognized as a contractor employee by wearing a Security Identification Badge while on any Government premises. When contractor personnel attend meetings, answer phones, and work in other situations where their status is not obvious to third parties, they must identify themselves as such to avoid creating the impression that they are a VA Government employee.

I. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

As outlined in the IDIQ

J. SECURITY

1. GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/ subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/ subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, that contractor/ subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR.

4. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

a. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally-owned or contractor/subcontractor owned equipment or software on VA’s network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All the security controls required for government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment. All remote systems must be equipped with, and use, a VA-approved antivirus (AV) software and a personal (host-based or enclave based) firewall that is configured with a VA approved configuration. Software must be kept current, including all critical updates and patches. Owners of approved OE are responsible for providing and maintaining the anti-viral software and the firewall on the non-VA owned OE.

5. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/ subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

6. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) Date of occurrence;

(b) Data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

(3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

7. TRAINING

a. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

(2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

(3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

(4) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access.

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

2.0 PRICE SCHEDULE

3.0 DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE