13 - Critical Information

Supplemental Instructions Solicitation 7FCM-N6-030736-B

SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONS

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

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

CLASSIFYING POSITIONS:

GSA does not make the determination as to whether a position will be classified as professional or non-professional. Therefore, please clearly indicate each proposed labor category as professional (P) or non-professional (N) on your pricing proposal. 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.

Professional Professional labor categories are NOT subject to the Service Contract Act. Pricing Methods 1 or 2 shall be utilized for professional rates.

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:

a. 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.

b. 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.

c. 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.

PRICE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION METHODS

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.

METHOD 3: SCA RATES Required for all SCA labor categories (NON-PROFESSIONAL) In accordance with clause I-FSS-969, - Economic Price Adjustment – FSS Multiple Award Schedule, paragraph (b)(2) pricing may be proposed based on a market indicator identified by an economic indicator such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (www.bls.gov) (not to exceed the conditions specified in (d)(4) of the clause). 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.

SECTION IV – SKILL DESCRIPTIONS/JOB DESCRIPTIONS

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Job descriptions must contain at a minimum the basic duties the employee will perform, minimum education and experience. Job descriptions that contain any of the duties listed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 7.5 entitled Inherently Government Functions will be rejected. Web link to FAR 7.5 is https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%207_5.html

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