12 - Critical Information

Supplemental Instructions Solicitation 7FCM-N6-030736-B Refresh 30

SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONS

The Multiple Award Schedule 736 for Temporary Administrative and Professional Staffing (TAPS) Services is intended to provide Federal agencies with a temporary solution that would allow agencies to quickly respond to immediate staffing needs that arise when critical requirements warrant temporary staff augmentation when key staff members are unavailable for work due to emergency, accident, illness, family responsibilities, jury services, etc.

Key Limitation, Restrictions, Information

· (a)Time limit on use of temporary help service firm. An agency may use a temporary help service firm(s) in a single situation, as defined in § 300.503, initially for no more than 120 workdays. Provided the situation continues to exist beyond the initial 120 workdays, the agency may extend its use of temporary help services up to the maximum limit of

· (b)Time limit on use of individual employee of a temporary help service firm.

· (1) An individual employee of any temporary help firm may work at a major organizational element (headquarters or field) of an agency for up to 120 work days in a 24-month period. The 24-month period begins on the first day of assignment.

· (2) An agency may make an exception for an individual to work up to a maximum of 240 workdays only when the agency has determined that using the services of the same individual for the same situation will prevent significant delay. (5 CFR 300.504 - Prohibition on employer-employee relationship.)

· Temporary Appointment is an appointment lasting one year or less, with a specific expiration date. It is appropriate when an agency expects there will be no permanent need for the employee. An agency may make a temporary appointment to:

· Fill short-term position that is not expected to last more than one year; or,

· Meet an employment need that is scheduled to be terminated within one or more years for reasons as the completion of a specific project or peak workload; or

· Fill positions that involve intermittent (irregular) or seasonal (recurring annually) work schedules.

· A temporary employee does not serve a probationary period and is not eligible for promotion, reassignment, or transfer to other jobs Geographic Scope

· Currently, the SCA applies to the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Outer Continental Shelf lands as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, American Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, Eniwetok Atoll, Kwajalein Atoll, Johnston Island, Canton Island, and the Northern Marianas.

· For contracts in which any part of the services will be performed within the geographic limits of the U.S., the SCA and appropriate wage determinations must be incorporated in the bid documents and contract, and the service employees must be paid the proper SCA rates for all hours worked within these geographic limits. Work performed outside the geographic limits of the U.S., even if pursuant to a contract for services that is performed in part in the U.S., is not subject to the requirements of the SCA.

FLSA and SCA Implications The FLSA (29 USC 201, et seq.) prescribes standards for the basic minimum wage and overtime pay that may affect SCA-covered contracts. The SCA interacts with the FLSA in three key ways:

· Section 2(b)(1) of the SCA provides that no contractor or subcontractor shall pay any employee engaged in performing work on a covered contract less that the minimum wage specified under section 6(a)(1) of the FLSA. See 29 CFR 4.159.

· Section 8(b) of the SCA defines the term “service employee” as any person engaged in the performance of a contract or that portion of a contract subject to the SCA except those employees in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities as those terms are defined in the FLSA regulations found at 29 CFR 541. See 41 USC 357(b) and 29 CFR 4.113.

· Section 6 of the SCA recognizes that other federal laws, such as the FLSA, may require overtime compensation to be paid to service employees working on or in connection with contracts subject to the SCA. See 41 USC 355, 29 CFR 4.180 -4.182, and 29 CFR 778.

SECTION II – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

FACTOR FIVE: INSURANCE

The minimum required insurance for this contract shall be:

In accordance with Clause 52.228-5 entitled "Insurance - work on a Government Installation, provide a current copy of the Certificate of Insurance showing the limits covered.

SECTION III – PRICE PROPOSAL

Labor Categories Descriptions

· Descriptions must be provided and must match the Labor Categories proposed in the price list.

· For labor categories subject to SCA, the job descriptions listed in the SCA Directory of Occupations (Fourth Edition) is acceptable.

· GSA does not make the determination as to whether a position will be classified as professional or non-professional.

· Each proposed labor category needs to be clearly label as professional (P) or non-professional (N) on the pricing proposal template.

· As the contractor, you are subject to all of Department of Labor's rules and are subject to the Department of Labor's audit procedures.

· By classifying the positions, you take full responsibility for any of the Department of Labor's findings during an audit.

· Category mapping and identifying a reasonable relationship for unlisted categories are the responsibility of the offeror (when applicable)

· The contractor should use mapping for title differences only; contractor should provide a crosswalk to show that i.e.: Secretary I is equivalent to Administrative Assistant I

· The contractor should identify a reasonable relationship for description differences subject to the conformance process, i.e.: Presentation Assistant

Service Employee

The term service employee as defined in Section 8 of the Act does not include persons employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as those terms are defined in 29 CFR part 541. Employees within the definition of service employee who are employed in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity are not excluded from coverage, however, even though they are highly paid, if they fail to meet the tests set forth in 29 CFR part 541. Thus, such employees as laboratory technicians, draftsmen, and air ambulance pilots, though they require a high level of skill to perform their duties and may meet the salary requirements of the regulations in part 541 of this title, are ordinarily covered by the Act's provisions because they do not typically meet the other requirements of those regulations.

Therefore, for the professional scope determination exercise, if the employee meets both the specific job duties and salary tests of Exemption 541 the employee cannot be added and/or incorporated into the schedule contract as proposed.

· Administrative Duties

· Primary duty is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers

· Primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance

· Professional Duties

· Primary duty is the performance of work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction

· Primary duty is the performance of work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor

· Executive Duties

· Primary duty is management of the enterprise or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision

· Customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees

· Authority to hire or fire other employees or recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or other change of status of other employees given particular weight, AND

· Salary Basis Test

· Regularly receives a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period (on a weekly or less frequent basis)

· The compensation cannot be reduced because of variations in the quality or quantity of the work performed

· Must be paid the full salary for any week in which the employee performs any work

· Need not be paid for any workweek when no work is performed

Proposed Pricing Methods

· Professional

· Professional labor categories are NOT subject to the Service Contract Act.

· Pricing MUST be in accordance with commercial practices; and method must be chosen.

· METHOD 1: MARKET PRICES (PROFESSIONAL)- In accordance with clause I-FSS-969, Economic Price Adjustment - FSS Multiple Award Schedule, paragraph (b)(1) pricing shall be proposed based on a negotiated five year fixed annual rate of escalation Method 1 pricing may only be used for professional labor categories. Non-professional labor categories subject to SCA Wage Determinations will not be permitted under this method. Utilize the pricing proposal template provided in the solicitation attachments. The offeror must certify that the annual escalation rate requested conforms to its historic pricing escalation practices and agrees to provide the Government additional supporting documentation to validate requested escalation rate, if required.

· METHOD 2: COMMERCIAL PRICE LIST (PROFESSIONAL)

In accordance with 552.216-70 Economic Price Adjustment- FSS Multiple Award Schedule, pricing shall be proposed for the first year only based on a commercial price list (CPL). Utilize the pricing proposal template provided in the solicitation attachments. Method 2 pricing may only be used for professional labor categories. Non-professional labor categories subject to SCA Wage Determinations will not be permitted under this method. Utilize the pricing proposal template provided in the solicitation attachments.

· Non-Professional

· Pricing Method 3 shall be utilized for all non-professional rates.

· All non-professional services are subject to the Service Contract Act. If your labor category is not listed within the wage determination (www.wdol.gov) and is not professional, the following instructions apply:

· Review the Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations which can be found at http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/wage/. If you can make a reasonable relationship between your labor category and a category listed on the SCA Directory of Occupations, provide a cross reference sheet showing which DOL position relates to the position in your offer.

· If you cannot make a reasonable relationship between your labor category and a category listed on the SCA Directory of Occupations http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/wage, review the following instructions in accordance with the DOL SCA Conformance Process http://www.dol.gov/whd/recovery/pwrb/Tab7SCACnfrmncPrcss.pdf.

· If you decide that the position(s) requires conformance, include a statement of your intent to prepare the required written reports and forms within the timeframes specified by the Department of Labor. Also provide documentation as to how the hourly base rates were developed and provide supporting documentation such as invoices, price lists, Salary.com, current contracts, etc. You must provide invoices to show commercial sales in support of the rates proposed. Since these positions will not appear on future wage determinations, you must propose a method to be used for future price adjustments.

· METHOD 3: SCA RATES Required for all SCA labor categories (NON-PROFESSIONAL) The offeror shall show the proposed price, e.g., WD Base Rate + Health and Welfare + Holiday % + Vacation % + Payroll % + Overhead % + Profit % = subtotal (Net GSA Price) + IFF = the proposed Total GSA Bill Rate. Utilize the pricing proposal template provided in the solicitation attachments.

*When submitting Labor Categories subject to SCA Wage Determination, the offeror is required to provide rates for their intended places of performance along with any supporting documentation. The offeror should indicate any differences in WD base rates for proposal pricing, for instance if Accounting Clerk I (under SIN 736-1) is being proposed for a lower WD base rate than Janitor (under SIN 736-3) the appropriate WD should be indicated. The contractor is responsible to adjust their proposal and for paying the appropriate WD for the locality for the intended performance local.

*In addition the contractor is required to make any modifications in the event their locality has changed

METHOD 4: Court Reporting and Transcription In accordance with 552.216-70 Economic Price Adjustment- FSS Multiple Award Schedule, pricing shall be proposed for the first year only based on a commercial price list (CPL). Utilize the pricing proposal template provided in the solicitation attachments. Method 4 pricing may only be used for ALL Court Reporting and Transcription labor categories.

COURT REPORTING & TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

If you are offering Court Reporting and/or related services, please note the following instructions:

a. Pricing Method 4 is preferred for pricing offered on an hourly basis.

b. Identify specific formatting method used, if any. The recommended method is set forth by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) (http://www.ncra.org/)

a. No fewer than 25 typed lines on standard 8-1/2 x 11 paper.

b. No fewer than nine or 10 characters to the typed inch.

c. Left-hand margin to be set at no more than 1-3/4 inches.

d. Right-hand margin to be set at no more than 3/8 inch.

e. Each question and answer to begin on a separate line.

f. Each question and answer to begin no more than five spaces from the left-hand margin with no more than five spaces from the Q and A to the text.

g. Carry-over Q&A lines to begin at the left-hand margin.

h. Colloquy material to begin no more than 15 spaces from the left-hand margin, with carryover colloquy to the left-hand margin.

i. Quoted material to begin no more than 15 spaces from the left-hand margin, with carry-over lines to begin no more than 10 spaces from the left-hand margin.

j. Parentheticals and exhibits markings to begin no more than 15 spaces from the left-hand margin, with carry-over lines to begin no more than 15 spaces from the left-hand margin.

· Be sure to adhere to the Transcript Formatting Guidelines as set forth in comment 9202 of the Code of Professional Ethics of National Court Reporters Association (www.ncra.org) for such categories as Depositions, Court Appearances, Meetings, Conferences, and Administrative Hearings, etc.

c. Specify and describe any charges including appearance fee, shipping rates for different shipping times, prices per additional transcript copies, videography services and resulting digital or electronic copies, fees for technical / semi-technical / non-technical transcription, and any other additional service.

· Pricing schedule should include a firm-fixed price per transcribed page based on typically the following delivery times;

· Same day delivery

· Next day delivery

· Progression of days from 2 to 10 for delivery

· Premium hours (outside normal business hours/holidays/weekends etc.); and

· Minimum charge fee

d. Regardless of the Pricing Method selected, SCA wage determination(s), including determination number, revision date, state and counties for the preponderance of work location must be submitted.

HELPFUL WEBSITE LINKS FOR VENDORS

· Wage Determinations Online (wage rates per location)

· http://www.wdol.gov/

· SCA Directory of Occupations (use for cross-reference)

· http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/wage/SCADirV5/SCADirectVers5.pdf

· SCA FAQs (answers regarding wage determinations)

· http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/web/SCA_FAQ.htm

· SCA Overview (add’l information about the Service Contract Act)

· http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-sca.htm

· Wage and Hour Division Contact Information (conformance process (use also for SIN 760-99))

· http://www.dol.gov/whd/contact_us.htm

· Health and Welfare Fringe Benefit Rate

· http://www.dol.gov/whd/govcontracts/sca/sf98/index.asp