Attachment B - ORS PWS.pdf

ATTACHMENT B – OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS SURVEY (ORS) ADDRESS REFINEMENT TASK

O.1 BACKGROUND

O.1.2 ORS DATA COLLECTION

O.2 SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

O.2.1 OBJECTIVE

O.2.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

O.2.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

O.2.3.1 ORS DATA COLLECTION CENTER (DCC)

O.2.4 GENERAL INFORMATION

O.2.4.1 KEY PERSONNEL

O.2.4.2 HOLIDAYS

O.2.4.3 UNSCHEDULED DISMISSALS

O.2.4.4 CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

O.2.4.5 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL CONDUCT

O.2.4.6 DATA RIGHTS

O.2.4.7 TELEWORKING

O.2.4.8 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED MATERIALS

O.2.4.9 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

O.3 TASKS AND SUBTASKS

O.3.1.1 SUBTASK – O.1 CONTACT ATTEMPTS

O.3.1.2 SUBTASK – O.2 COMPLETE CONTACT ATTEMPT LOG

O.3.1.3 SUBTASK – O.3 SET APPOINTMENT

O.3.1.4 SUBTASK – O.4 UPDATE CONTACT INFORMATION

O.3.1.5 SUBTASK – O.5 FIRM REFUSAL

O.3.1.6 SUBTASK – O.6 LEAVING A VOICEMAIL

O.3.2.1 GOVERNMENT QUALITY CONTROL

O.3.2.2 CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL

O.3.2.3 TRAINING

O.3.4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

O.3.4.1 PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

O.3.4.2 PHASE-OUT OF WORK

O.4 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES

O.4.1 PROJECT MANAGER

O.4.1.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

O.4.1.2 DUTIES

O.4.2 INTERVIEWER 1

O.4.1.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

O.4.1.2 DUTIES

O.5 DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

O.6 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX

APPENDIX A: BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements

O.1 BACKGROUND

O.1.1 OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS SURVEY

The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) is an establishment-based survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The ORS provides job-related information regarding physical demands;

environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements for jobs in the U.S. economy.

For more information on ORS, please visit https://www.bls.gov/ors/.

O.1.2 ORS DATA COLLECTION

The ORS Survey is an annual survey collected by BLS Field Economists via phone, video conference, or in-person interview. Field Economists collect information on job tasks, education and training requirements, physical demands, and cognitive requirements for a subsample of occupations within an establishment.

O.2 SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

O.2.1 OBJECTIVE

The contractor shall provide non-personal services for the ORS program with address refinement and appointment scheduling services at the government Data Collection Center in Kansas City, MO. Limited telework flexibility is available under conditions listed in section O.4.2.7. The contractor shall provide quality control, training, and project management to support contractor operations.

O.2.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The base period of performance is expected to be August 15, 2024 through August 14, 2025.

O.2.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

O.2.3.1 ORS DATA COLLECTION CENTER (DCC)

The ORS DCC is located in government leased space in Kansas City, MO. Limited telework flexibility is available under conditions listed in section O.2.4.7. All employees must live within commuting distance of the DCC.

The DCC is responsible for contacting individual survey respondents, sometimes referred to as schedules, and attempting to set collection appointments or find alternate contact information.

This work is done via telephone or Microsoft Teams. Logging and tracking contact attempts and results will be done in a system provided by the government.

DCC Address Hours of Operation* Workstations

Kansas City 2300 Main St Room 11048

Kansas City, MO 64108 6 am – 7 pm (Central) 3 https://www.bls.gov/ors/

*Hours of operation are subject to change.

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

O.2.4 GENERAL INFORMATION

O.2.4.1 KEY PERSONNEL

The contractor shall identify the key personnel that will be responsible for managing the contract. The Project Manager (PM) is considered key personnel for the contract. See section O.4.1 for PM requirements. The PM shall be the single point of contact for the management of this contract. The PM reports to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer (CO) for compliance with all the requirements of this contract. The PM position is expected to be a part-time position to support the ORS program.

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. While the PM is the official point of contact for the management of this contract, administrative tasks are expected to be delegated to contractor administrative staff to ensure the PM can focus on operations and performance.

The PM must meet with the COR and other program officials no less than once per month to discuss issues related to the administration of the contract and actual performance on respective tasks. The contractor shall 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.

If 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 within 24 hours 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.

O.2.4.2 HOLIDAYS

The contractor shall not perform work on government holidays or non-work days (including weekends) without prior written approval of the CO. Approved work performed on holidays or non-work days shall be billable at regular rates.

The following is a list of government holidays:

• New Year’s Day

• Martin Luther King Day

• President’s Day

• Memorial Day

• Juneteenth National Independence Day

• Independence Day

• Labor Day

• Columbus Day

• Veterans Day

• Thanksgiving Day

• Christmas Day

O.2.4.3 UNSCHEDULED DISMISSALS

Unless requested by the BLS ORS Point of Contact (ORS POC) and approved by the CO, in the event that the government facility closes, on-site contractor personnel working under this contract shall be dismissed. In any situation regarding unscheduled dismissal and/or the closure of government offices, the contractor shall not be compensated for lost hours. In the event extraordinary conditions require continued contractor support when government offices are closed, at the specific request of the ORS POC, and with the approval of the CO, the contractor shall provide sufficient personnel to support 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 ORS POC 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.

O.2.4.4 CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

The contractor shall comply with the BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements. Please see Appendix A – BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements. Contractor personnel with access to BLS confidential information must become agents of the BLS by signing a BLS Agent Agreement and completing BLS confidentiality training.

The contractor shall safeguard all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and confidential materials shall be secured, whether onsite or in telework status.

O.2.4.5 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL CONDUCT

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

O.2.4.6 DATA RIGHTS

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

O.2.4.7 TELEWORKING

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 interviewers as eligible to telework and determine which staff should be on site within a given day. The Telework Plan shall ensure that on-site staff be representative of the contractor’s staff and at a minimum include recent hires, trainers, low performers in need of support, high performers to provide mentoring and training, and enough supervisors on site to monitor interviewers working in federal facilities. Individual contractor staff who lack an adequate work environment (e.g., no suitable off-site workspace, or personal residence having inadequate Internet connection) shall be permitted to work on-site. Contractor staff who are determined to be eligible for telework but have a preference to work on-site shall be permitted to work on-site. The PM and 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 ORS POC.

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 work remotely. 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 COR prior to use. All telework sites must meet the security requirements described in the BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements.

O.2.4.8 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED MATERIALS

O.2.4.8.1 FURNISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT

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

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

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

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

Department of Labor.

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

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

O.2.4.8.2 CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY

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 to the Data

Collection Center including laptops, wired and wireless headsets and docking stations, and power cords for the laptops. After five work days, 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, therefore 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.

O.2.4.9 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

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.

O.3 TASKS AND SUBTASKS

Task Subtask Subtask Number

RESPONDENT CONTACT CONTACT ATTEMPTS O.1

RESPONDENT CONTACT CONTACT ATTEMPT LOG O.2

RESPONDENT CONTACT SET APPOINTMENT O.3

RESPONDENT CONTACT UPDATE CONTACT INFORMATION O.4

RESPONDENT CONTACT HARD REFUSALS O.5

RESPONDENT CONTACT LEAVING A VOICEMAIL O.6

O.3.1 TASK – RESPONDENT CONTACT

O.3.1.1 SUBTASK – O.1 CONTACT ATTEMPTS

O.3.1.1.1 The government will provide respondent contact information for ORS schedules through a government system to the contractor on a flow basis. The contractor shall distribute schedules to contractor staff using a government provided tool within three business days of the schedule being transferred to the contractor.

O.3.1.1.2 The contractor staff shall make contact attempts over a 10-business day period to secure a collection appointment for an assigned schedule. These attempts will be limited to two attempts per day per schedule. Contacts shall be made at a variety of different times throughout the week until an appointment is scheduled or alternate contact information is provided.

O.3.1.1.3 The contractor will conduct five respondent contact attempts for a 10-business day period following the first attempt or until an appointment is scheduled, a hard refusal is received, or alternate contact information is provided.

O.3.1.2 SUBTASK – O.2 COMPLETE CONTACT ATTEMPT LOG

O.3.1.2.1 The contractor staff will log the call attempts in a government provided tool.

Information will be logged in real time to include the date, time, and result of the call.

O.3.1.3 SUBTASK – O.3 SET APPOINTMENT

O.3.1.3.1 The contactor staff will receive government-provided training and scripts to facilitate the setting of appointments. Once the appointment has been set, the schedule will be returned to the government for collection.

O.3.1.4 SUBTASK – O.4 UPDATE CONTACT INFORMATION

O.3.1.4.1 If the contractor staff receives updated contact information for the schedule, this information shall be entered into the Contact Attempt Log. The schedule will be returned to the government for further refinement and collection attempts.

O.3.1.5 SUBTASK – O.5 FIRM REFUSAL

O.3.1.5.1 If the contractor staff receives a firm refusal from the respondent, the contractor should document this in the Contact Attempt Log.

O.3.1.6 SUBTASK – O.6 LEAVING A VOICEMAIL

O.3.1.6.1 If the contractor staff are unable to reach the respondent using the contact information provided after 10 business days, they should leave a voicemail.

O.3.2. QUALITY CONTROL AND TRAINING

O.3.2.1 GOVERNMENT QUALITY CONTROL

The government will perform quality control activities to ensure the respondent contacts and documentation are occurring in accordance with procedures.

The government will share results of these QA activities with the contractor. The contractor shall address these issues to the satisfaction of the government within five business days of notification by the government; if this is not possible, the contractor shall provide the BLS ORS POC a reasonable explanation.

The government will notify the contractor of concerns or issues identified by other methods.

The contractor shall address these issues to the satisfaction of the government within five business days of notification by the government; if this is not possible, the contractor shall provide the BLS ORS POC a reasonable explanation. The contractor shall resolve monthly actions items provided by the government.

The contractor and the Government shall agree upon a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan that summarizes the acceptable quality levels and stipulates penalties for AQLs that have not been met and incentives for AQLs that have been exceeded.

O.3.2.2 CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL

The contractor shall actively engage in call monitoring to identify training needs, ensure data integrity policy compliance, correct deficiencies in interviewer performance, and identify successful techniques to share across centers. The contractor shall investigate and resolve issues detected during quality control review.

O.3.2.2.1 The contractor shall provide the government with a Contractor Quality Control Plan that ensures data complies with ORS procedures and ensures data integrity utilizing the surveillance and recording functions included in the telephone system software. A final Quality Control Plan must be provided within 90 days following award.

O.3.2.3 TRAINING

The contractor shall certify new employees for the applicable new hire training modules before the new employees can independently contact respondents. The contractor and BLS will establish a system to report completed training to the BLS ORS POC and COR that certifies a new contractor hire is capable completing tasks independently in accordance with program procedures and data integrity guidelines. New employees are not authorized to collect data unsupervised until they have completed the data integrity training, signed the data integrity document, and completed the annual confidentiality training.

The government will provide new hire training materials which includes an overview of the ORS program, an overview of the Contact Attempt Log, and scripts for various scenarios. The contractor shall be available to take any training as deemed necessary by BLS or DOL.

The contractor shall provide all training for all routine ORS operations, using government provided or government approved training materials.

O.3.2.3.1 The contractor shall certify that new hires complete the ORS Training Materials.

The contractor shall not allow interviewers to independently perform ORS work without this certification. The contractor shall ensure that this training is completed within 15 calendar days of a new hire’s starting date.

O.3.4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

O.3.4.1 PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

The contractor shall provide for the program support activities to plan, monitor, and control work assignments issued under this PWS 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.

O.3.4.1.1 PERSONNEL

O.3.4.1.1.2 The contractor shall designate a Project Manager who will be the contractor's authorized liaison with the COR and government management personnel within three calendar days of award. The Project Manager shall be available to meet or confer with government personnel as needed. The Project Manager is designated as Key Personnel.

O.3.4.1.1.2 The Contractor shall attend an in-person kickoff meeting to review and finalize phase-in plans, quality control plans, security procedures, and any other contractual matters.

O.3.4.1.1.3 For labor hours other than fixed price tasks (in accordance with FAR 52.212-4 Alt 1), the contractor shall be required to document actual employee hours worked by use of a time sheet, time clock, or other time keeping method. The contractor shall only bill for actual hours worked. The contractor shall ensure that actual employee hours worked are documented on time sheets or time clocks, which correspond with employee hours billed on monthly invoices prior to submission to the government. The contractor shall provide this documentation monthly in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

O.3.4.1.1.4 The contractor shall use automated government contract and personnel management applications as required by the COR. The contractor PM shall delegate these administrative tasks to appropriate contractor administrative staff. These include, but are not restricted to:

O.3.4.1.1.4.1 UpStart The contractor administrative staff shall provide completed, encrypted OF-306 forms and any additionally required information for all contractor job candidates to BLS staff designated by the COR. These will be submitted via UpStart, a clearance utility managed by DOL’s Department of Personnel Suitability and Security (DPSS).

O.3.4.1.1.4.2 BLS Employee Database The contractor administrative staff shall request that the COR enter all employees into the BLS Employee Database once they have been cleared to enter on duty by DPSS and given a start date by the BLS ORS POC. A network account will not be created for the employee until the employee information is entered into the database. The BLS Employee Database is used by several BLS applications, including an application to process security investigations and an application to process IT security requirements. The contractor shall keep the employee information current, notifying the COR of any changes in contractor staff’s names, labor categories, and work locations.

O.3.4.1.1.4.3 Contractor Timesheet System (CTS) All contractor staff shall use the BLS Contractor Timesheet System and make entries in the application at the start and end of each workday.

Additionally, the contractor administrative staff should submit a

Microsoft Excel version of timesheets to the BLS ORS POC and COR on a weekly basis.

O.3.4.1.1.4.4 Invoices An email copy of the invoice and supporting materials should be submitted to the COR for review prior to submittal to the government’s IPP payment system.

O.3.4.1.2 REPORTING

O.3.4.1.2.1 DATA FALSIFICATION

The contractor shall report immediately to the BLS ORS POC, CO, and COR any contractor staff who has been identified as falsifying data. The contractor shall follow the steps detailed in O.3.4.2.5 whenever potential data falsification is identified. If a final determination of falsification is made by the CO, the contractor shall provide a report to the government within 30 days that includes the following information:

• Name of staff and length of time on contract.

• Cause of initial suspicion of falsification, including the date of initial suspicion, method for identification, case numbers involved, and whether initial suspicion was from the contractor or the government.

• Details on the complete (100%) review of staff’s caseload, including the number of cases reviewed, method of review, case numbers identified as falsified, status of falsified cases, estimate on the duration of falsification, and details on how the data were falsified (i.e., entered as unchanged, random data entry, other).

• Staffing resolution (i.e., termination, resignation, etc.), including method of surveillance after the time of initial suspicion.

O.3.4.1.2.2 The contractor's PM shall convene regularly with the BLS ORS POC to address ORS address refinement operations.

O.3.4.1.2.3 The contractor shall issue a report once per month containing the following information in a format agreed to by the government following award.

The reporting period must be from the first day of the month through the last day of the month. The contractor shall provide this monthly report within 7 calendar days of the last day of the month.

O.3.4.1.2.3.1 The contractor shall provide a summary of work being done to meet or exceed all AQLs. The contractor shall address reasons for not meeting AQLs, if applicable, and create proactive strategies to remedy the situation.

O.3.4.1.2.3.2 The contractor shall provide monthly quality control reports listing any issues and resolutions.

O.3.4.1.2.3.3 If applicable, the contractor shall provide a brief description of any technical or administrative problems that have arisen during the reporting period, or any problems that are expected to arise during the next reporting period. The contractor shall also include a statement of changes in personnel during the reporting period.

O.3.4.1.2.3.4 The contractor shall include the current billing period expenditures and hours in usage of dollars and hours, cumulative expenditures and hours, and balance of contractual funds and hours as of the end of the reporting period. The contractor shall generate this report by labor category.

O.3.4.1.2.3.5 The contractor shall include the number of staff at each DCC, the number of vacancies at each DCC and the number of planned hires at each DCC in the monthly report.

O.3.4.1.2.4 Eight weeks prior to the end of any performance period, the contractor shall provide to the COR a report projecting the amount of labor hour funds required until the end of the performance period.

O.3.4.2 PHASE-OUT OF WORK

The contractor shall establish and implement plans for an orderly phase-out of operations at the completion of this contract. The contractor’s phase-out procedures shall not disrupt or adversely affect the day-to-day conduct of government business. The plan shall at a minimum address the following issues:

• Removal of contractor property, and

• Data and information transfer, and

• Clean-up of contractor work areas, and

• Any other actions required to ensure continuity of operations.

The contractor shall submit the draft plan to the COR for approval no later than 90 calendar days prior to contract completion. The COR will provide any revisions required within 10 calendar days. The contractor shall submit to the COR the final plan with all revisions no later than 30 calendar days prior to contract completion. The contractor shall not make any further changes without COR approval after acceptance of the final plan.

O.4 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES

The contractor shall provide the necessary personnel with at least the minimum qualifications to perform each task assignment in accordance with PWS. All positions under this requirement are expected to be part-time.

O.4.1 PROJECT MANAGER

O.4.1.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

O.4.1.1.1 Bachelor's degree.

O.4.1.1.2 Five years of experience in the administration and management of large contracts comprised of multiple and concurrent tasks. Management includes the planning, budgeting and staffing for each task.

O.4.1.1.3 Three years of experience in corporate on-site decision-making authority.

O.4.1.1.4 Two years of experience developing performance metrics which provide detailed analyses of staffing, requirements matching, and hiring.

O.4.1.1.5 Experience defining specifications for reports to measure staff productivity and interpreting data to address deficiencies and identify opportunities for improvement.

O.4.1.2 DUTIES

Typical duties shall include but are not limited to the following:

O.4.1.2.1 Corporate representative who can make commitments on behalf of the contracting company in all administrative and technical matters related to the performance of tasks.

O.4.1.2.2 Responsible for the supervision and direction of all contract personnel assigned to the contract.

O.4.1.2.3 Responsible for management of any subcontracting agreements, security enforcement, and task reporting and coordination.

O.4.1.2.4 Evaluates reports on performance metrics and works with the COR and BLS management to implement decisions to ensure proper execution of the contract to meet BLS needs.

O.4.1.2.5 The project manager is the primary liaison between the contractor personnel and the COR.

O.4.1.2.5 Discusses technical, financial, and administrative issues with the COR, CO, and BLS ORS POC.

O.4.1.2.6 Ensures that all BLS security and confidentiality requirements (See Appendix A) and procedures are met for new hires and in place contract staff, including provision of signed Agency Agreements and credentialing documents.

O.4.1.2.7 Supervises contract employees in assigned task areas.

O.4.2 INTERVIEWER 1

Interviewers in this project are expected to be part-time positions.

O.4.1.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

O.4.1.1.1 High School diploma or equivalent; or one year of relevant experience.

O.4.1.1.2 Two years of experience using Microsoft Office suite or equivalent software.

O.4.1.1.3 Experience using the internet for research.

O.4.1.2 DUTIES

Typical duties shall include but are not limited to the following:

O.4.1.2.1 Performs non-response prompting calls to secure appointments.

O.4.1.2.2 Answers incoming calls from respondents by providing prompt and courteous service.

O.4.1.2.3 Enters data into contact log.

O.5 DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

Deliverable Frequency # of Copies

Medium/Format Submit To

Staff Management Plan (O.2.4.1)

Quarterly 1 PDF or similar COR

Contractor Quality Control Plan (O.3.4.2.6)

Draft with proposal. Final copy due within 90 days of contract award.

1 PDF or similar COR

Telework Plan (O.2.4.7)

Draft with proposal. Final copy due within 10 days of the kick-off meeting. Updated as needed.

1 PDF or similar COR

Deliverable Frequency # of Copies

Medium/Format Submit To

Monthly Invoice (O.3.5.2.1.3)

Monthly 1 PDF or similar COR

Monthly report (O.3.5.2.2.4)

Monthly within seven calendar days of the end of the month.

1 PDF or similar COR

Performance Period Funding (O.3.5.2.2.5)

Eight weeks prior to the end of the performance period.

1 PDF, Excel, or similar.

COR

Phase-out Plan (O.3.5.3)

Draft 90 days prior to contract completion. Final 30 days prior to contract completion. The COR will provide any revisions required within 10 calendar days.

1 PDF or similar COR

O.6 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX

Performance Objective and PWS paragraph

Performance Standard Acceptable

Quality Level Method of Inspection

Contact Rate, 1st month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 2nd month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 3rd month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 4th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 5th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 6th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 7th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 8th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 9th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 10th month 50% Monthly

Contact Rate, 11th month 50% Monthly

Timeliness, 1st month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 2nd month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 3rd month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 4th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 5th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 6th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 7th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 8th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 9th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 10th month 95% Monthly

Timeliness, 11th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 1st month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 2nd month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 3rd month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 4th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 5th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 6th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 7th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 8th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 9th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 10th month 95% Monthly

Documentation Completeness, 11th month 95% Monthly

APPENDIX A: BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements

Last Updated: October 2023

1. Work under this contract may involve access to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confidential information, including information to be collected under this contract on behalf of the BLS or information previously collected by the BLS under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes or other confidential information as defined in Section 2 below. The majority of data collected by or on behalf of the BLS are provided on a voluntary basis by respondents who have agreed to provide the information for the statistical purpose(s) specified by the BLS. A violation of the confidence that respondents place in the BLS would endanger the ability of the BLS to carry out its duties. Therefore, the Contractor and its employees must handle any such data, that they may come into contact with as a result of contract work, in accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical

Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) (44 USC Section 3561 et seq.) and other applicable Federal laws. Due to the possible exposure to data protected by law under CIPSEA, the BLS may, in accordance with this contract, designate Contractor employees as agents of the BLS. All such agents are subject to the fines and penalties under CIPSEA and any other fines and penalties that apply to the mishandling of confidential information. The “Confidential Information Protection” provisions of CIPSEA appear as Attachment A of these requirements.

2. For the purposes of this contract, "confidential information" may include any of the following:

a. Statutorily Protected Information. Data or information collected by the BLS, including its agents, under a pledge of confidentiality and/or data protected from public disclosure under

CIPSEA, the Wagner-Peyser Act, the Trade Secrets Act, or other Federal laws.

b. Respondent Identifiable Information. Any representation of information that permits the identity of participants in BLS statistical programs to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. BLS-specific examples include but are not limited to survey sample composition, lists of reporters, names of respondents, and brand names, regardless of the source of such lists or names. Respondent Identifiable Information may also be Statutorily Protected Information.

c. Personally Identifiable Information. Any representation of information about an individual, maintained by the BLS, that permits the identity of the individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. BLS-specific examples include but are not limited to, education, financial transactions, and medical, criminal, or employment history, and information which can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as their name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric records, etc., including any other personal information which is linked or linkable to an individual. Personally Identifiable Information may also be Respondent

Identifiable Information and Statutorily Protected Information.

d. Principal Federal Economic Indicator (PFEI) Pre-release Information. Statistics and analyses produced by the BLS that have not yet been released to the public and have been designated by the Office of Management and Budget as Principal Federal Economic Indicators. Currently, the following BLS data series have been designated as PFEIs: the Consumer Price Index, Employment Situation, Employment Cost Index, Producer Price Indexes, Productivity and Costs, Real Earnings, and U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes.

e. Non-PFEI Pre-release Information. Statistics and analyses, not designated as PFEIs, that have not yet been released to the public, whether or not there is a set date and time of release before which they must not be divulged.

f. Restricted Access Information. Information describing the internal practices of the BLS that should be limited in access to individuals with a need-to-know. BLS-specific examples include but are not limited to system security documentation and vulnerability assessments, procurement-sensitive information, systems-specific operating procedures, and internal reports.

3. In performing work under this contract, the Contractor agrees that access to the confidential information will be restricted to authorized persons. For the purposes of this contract, "authorized persons" is defined as: BLS employees and non-BLS employees designated as agents of the BLS who are authorized access to the confidential information for the statistical purposes set out under this contract and who have signed a BLS Agent Agreement (Attachment B) swearing to comply with CIPSEA and other applicable Federal laws in the handling of BLS confidential information.

The parties understand and agree to the following:

a. Authorized persons granted access to confidential information will not make use of the information for any purpose other than to carry out tasks specifically authorized under the contract.

b. Authorized persons will not seek to obtain access to confidential information that is not needed to carry out contract work.

c. The Contractor will promptly provide the BLS with a list of Contractor employees who the

Contractor believes require access to BLS confidential information to perform work on the contract. The BLS will consider such persons for designation as agents of the BLS. If the BLS deems it necessary to decline to approve any such employee as an agent, the Contractor may provide the name of another Contractor employee to the BLS for consideration.

d. The BLS will provide the Contractor with BLS Agent Agreements for all approved agents. The

Contractor will forward all signed BLS Agent Agreements to the Contracting Officer

Representative (COR) or a BLS designated official prior to such agents receiving access to the confidential information.

e. The Contractor will keep records on current Agent designations and will report such information promptly to the COR upon request.

f. The Contractor will assure that all agents will comply with their obligations under the BLS

Agent Agreement and under the contract.

4. Agents shall not be regarded as employees of the United States Government, the Department of

Labor, or the BLS for any purpose. The parties further understand and agree to the following:

a. The Contractor shall notify the BLS COR promptly whenever an agent is no longer associated with the Contractor or when an agent no longer requires access to confidential information.

The Contractor shall notify the BLS immediately whenever an agent’s access to confidential data may endanger the confidentiality of data.

b. BLS may, without advance notice, discontinue or suspend any BLS Agent Agreement or any agent’s access to its information at any time, within its own absolute discretion.

c. In the event of such suspension or discontinuance, the employing Contractor will propose a

Contractor employee deemed suitable by the BLS as a replacement agent, where such employee’s services are needed to carry out the Contractor’s responsibilities under this contract.

d. No BLS Agent Agreement nor any discontinuance nor suspension thereof, nor any denial of access to information, will result in any payment of any kind nor any legal liability by the BLS, the

Department of Labor, or the United States Government.

e. Discontinuance of any BLS Agent Agreement will not affect any obligation of the Contractor or the designated agent to safeguard confidential data or any intellectual property rights set forth in this contract or in any BLS Agent Agreement.

5. The Contractor agrees, in the performance of this contract, to screen employees and to use only those employees who have a demonstrated record of honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and reliability as ascertained by the Contractor. All Contractor employees selected to work under this contract may be subject to any Federal background investigation(s) deemed appropriate by BLS, including pre-employment checks.

6. All agents will perform activities subject to this contract under the control of the COR, a BLS Task

Monitor, or any other BLS official that the BLS designates (in some contracts the COR responsibilities noted in these requirements will be handled by a BLS Task Monitor).

7. The Contractor agrees to notify the BLS COR and/or BLS Task Monitor of any contractor employee’s intent to separate and the proposed effective date at least two weeks prior to the separation. In the event of an unplanned departure due to unforeseen termination or resignation, the Contractor agrees to provide immediate notification of a contractor employee’s separation. Types of separation may include employees transfer or termination. The BLS requires this prompt notification so that additional agency separation procedures for contractors can be initiated.

8. All agents must agree, in writing, to comply with all provisions of law that affect information acquired by the BLS including, among other laws, the Trade Secrets Act, the Wagner-Peyser Act, and the Privacy

Act. They must specifically swear (or affirm) to comply with the provisions of CIPSEA, as set forth in the

BLS Agent Agreement attached as Attachment B. Agents who improperly disclose confidential information may be subject to criminal sanctions.

9. The Contractor agrees to cooperate with BLS in administering BLS-supplied confidentiality and security trainings to all agents designated under this contract. The Contractor agrees to ensure that all agents complete such training within thirty days of being assigned to BLS work and on an annual basis thereafter. The Contractor agrees to follow BLS instruction with regard to reporting on training completion and to provide reasonable evidence of training completion to the BLS upon request. The BLS may consider, but is not obligated to accept, alternate approaches to training delivery and reporting that the contractor may propose to meet this requirement.

10. The Contractor agrees not to divulge, publish, reproduce, or otherwise disclose, in any manner or to any extent, confidential information, in whole or in part, to any individual other than authorized persons.

11. The Contractor and all of its employees shall not release any reports or other outputs (including those oral or written and regardless of format) prepared using confidential information, unless approved in advance by the COR or other official designated by the BLS. Such approval will be documented to assure that no such outputs involve the inappropriate release of confidential information. All parties, including Contractors and its employees, will be bound by the determinations of such BLS official.

12. The Contractor agrees to notify the COR immediately upon discovering any actual or suspected breach of security or unauthorized disclosure of BLS sensitive information, which includes confidential information, defined above. This includes any opportunity for, or actual instance of, an unauthorized individual accessing sensitive information. Examples of unauthorized disclosures are the loss or theft of a computing device, email or fax transmittals of confidential information sent to an unintended recipient, or any unauthorized advance release.

13. The Contractor agrees to notify the COR immediately upon receipt of any legal, investigatory, or other demand for access to the confidential information in any form.

14. The Contractor agrees not to subcontract or transfer any work in the performance of the contract that would involve the exposure or disclosure of any BLS confidential information orally, in writing, or in any other form, in whole or in part, to the subcontractor or access to such information by the subcontractor except with the prior written approval of the COR. The Contractor agrees to include BLS confidentiality and security provisions as provided by the COR in all subcontracts awarded to carry out work provided for in this contract. The Contractor agrees to consult with the COR regarding whether subcontractor employees are required to be designated as agents. The Contractor agrees to send to the

COR, a copy of any approved subcontract upon execution.

15. The Contractor agrees not to attempt to link BLS confidential information with individually identifiable records from any BLS or non-BLS data set without the written approval of the COR. The

Contractor must show to the satisfaction of the BLS that they are able to legally extend to the BLS permission to access all such non-BLS data. Permission must be extended to BLS employees and agents to access the non-BLS data. All new data sets created from linking BLS confidential information with other data are protected by CIPSEA and must be handled in accordance with the provisions in this contract.

16. In the case that the contract involves the collection of data from respondents, the contractor agrees to notify the COR immediately should any respondent require an agreement be signed prior to providing data to the BLS.

17. If any contractor employees must be issued BLS Local Area Network (LAN) IDs, then each such employee must agree to abide by BLS network “Rules of Behavior” prior to receiving an ID.

18. Contractor employees shall be required to sign any individual agreements governing access to information that are required by other Federal agencies as a result of the disclosure of data to

Contractor employees pursuant to this contract.

19. Contractor employees who have access to pre-release information are prohibited from releasing the data to anyone other than authorized employees of the BLS and authorized agents who require access to such data for the purposes of carrying out their responsibilities under this contract. They shall not gain financially from knowledge of the data. It would be a violation of this contract for Contractor employees to do the following:

a. Use knowledge of pre-release information to buy or sell stocks, mutual funds, bonds, or futures, or to make or divest themselves of other similar investments.

b. Disclose pre-release information to other persons or advise or make recommendations to other persons based on knowledge of such data.

20. Privacy Act notification: If applicable, the Contractor will be required to design, develop, or operate system(s) of records on individuals, to accomplish an Agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93 579 (5 U.S.C., Section 552a) as amended (the Act), and applicable agency regulations.

Violation of the Act may involve the imposition of criminal penalties (FAR 52.224 1). The title(s) of the system(s) of records shall be listed on the respective task orders, as appropriate.

21. The Contractor agrees to:

a. Comply with the Act and the Agency rules and regulations issued pursuant to the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies:

(1) the system(s) of records; and

(2) the design, development, or operation work that the Contractor is to perform.

b. Include the Privacy Act provisions contained in this contract in every solicitation and every subcontract, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals that is subject to the Act.

c. Include, in all data solicitations requesting information to be placed in a Privacy Act System of

Records, a Privacy Act notification statement provided by the BLS.

22. The Federal Information Security Modernization Act tasked the National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) with providing minimum security requirements for the protection of sensitive information while residing in nonfederal information systems. The Contractor agrees to ensure that all

Contractor-owned systems used to store or process data under this…