Attachment C - CES PWS.pdf

ATTACHMENT C – CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS (CES) DCC OPERATIONS TASK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

C.1 BACKGROUND

C.1.1 CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

C.1.2 CES DATA COLLECTION

C.1.2.1 CES DATA COLLECTION BACKGROUND

C.1.2.2 CES SURVEY UNITS

C.2 SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

C.2.1 OBJECTIVE

C.2.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

C.2.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

C.2.3.1 CES DATA COLLECTION CENTERS (DCCs)

C.2.3.2 CES HELP DESK

C.2.4 GENERAL INFORMATION

C.2.4.1 KEY PERSONNEL

C.2.4.2 HOLIDAYS

C.2.4.3 UNSCHEDULED DISMISSALS

C.2.4.4 CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

C.2.4.5 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL CONDUCT

C.2.4.6 DATA RIGHTS

C.2.4.7 TELEWORKING

C.2.4.8 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED MATERIALS

C.2.4.9 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

C.3 TASKS

C.3.1 ENROLLMENT

C.3.1.1 ADDRESS REFINEMENT

C.3.1.2 ENROLLMENT OF NEW SAMPLE

C.3.1.3 REFUSAL CONVERSION

C.3.1.4 ENROLLMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES

C.3.2 COLLECTION

C.3.2.1 MULTI-MODAL COLLECTION

C.3.2.2 COLLECTION PERFORMANCE MEASURES

C.3.3 HELP DESK

C.3.3.1 WEB RESPONDENT SUPPORT

C.3.3.2 WEB EDIT RECONCILIATION AND DATA QUALITY

C.3.3.3 DATA ENTRY

C.3.3.4 OTHER HELP DESK SUPPORT ACTIVIES

C.3.3.5 HELP DESK PERFORMANCE MEASURES

C.3.4 QUALITY CONTROL AND TRAINING

C.3.4.1 GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE

C.3.4.2 CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL

C.3.4.3 TRAINING

C.3.5 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

C.3.5.1 PHASE-IN OF WORK

C.3.5.2 PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

C.3.5.3 PHASE-OUT OF WORK

C.4 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES

C.4.1 PROJECT MANAGER

C.4.1.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.1.2 DUTIES

C.4.2 TASK MANAGER

C.4.2.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.2.2 DUTIES

C.4.3 DCC TASK SUPERVISORS

C.4.3.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.3.2 DUTIES

C.4.4 INTERVIEWER 3

C.4.4.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.4.2 DUTIES

C.4.5 INTERVIEWER 2

C.4.5.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.5.2 DUTIES

C.4.6 INTERVIEWER 1

C.4.6.1 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

C.4.6.2 DUTIES

C.4.7 ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

C.5 DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

C.6 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY MATRIX

APPENDIX A: CES FORMS AND DATA ELEMENTS

APPENDIX B: CES SCHEDULE

APPENDIX C: CES RESPONSE RATE CALCULATION

APPENDIX D: CES CATI SYSTEM

APPENDIX E: CES WEB COLLECTION TOOL

APPENDIX F: GLOSSARY

APPENDIX G: BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements

APPENDIX H: CES Data Integrity Policy

C-DESCRIPTIONS/SPECIFICATIONS

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

DATA COLLECTION CENTER

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

C.1 BACKGROUND

C.1.1 CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

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

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

• All Employees (AE)

• Women Employees (WE)

• Production and Nonsupervisory Employees (PE)

• AE Payroll

• AE Hours

• AE Commissions (paid at least once per month)

• AE Overtime Hours (manufacturing only)

• PE Payroll

• PE Hours

• PE Commissions (paid at least once per month)

• PE Overtime Hours (manufacturing only)

For more information on the data collected by CES, please see Appendix A – CES Forms and Data Elements.

The primary statistics derived from the CES survey are monthly estimates of employment, hours, and earnings for the nation, states, and major metropolitan areas. Preliminary national estimates for a given reference month are typically released on the third Friday after the conclusion of the reference period in conjunction with data derived from a separate survey of households, the Current Population Survey (CPS). The reference period for the CES survey is the pay period which includes the 12th of the month.

For more information on the CES production schedule, please see Appendix B - CES Schedule.

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

All glossary words are bolded the first time they appear in this document. Please see Appendix F – https://www.bls.gov/ces/

Glossary.

C.1.2 CES DATA COLLECTION

C.1.2.1 CES DATA COLLECTION BACKGROUND

Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects data on employment, payroll, and paid hours from a sample of establishments.

CES has a comprehensive program of new sample unit enrollment in four CES Data Collection Centers (DCCs). Nearly all initial CES enrollment occurs in the DCCs via Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). After successful enrollment the DCCs will collect data via CATI before transferring to a hybrid collection mode called Flex reporting. Flex reporting is a dynamic collection method where CES attempts to collect microdata via the BLS web collection tool based on a respondent’s previous reporting behavior. With Flex reporting, the DCCs still perform initial enrollment for each case via telephone and collect the data for three months prior to the case being eligible for Flex. Once a case is converted to Flex, the respondent will receive email prompts during the beginning of the collection cycle. If the respondent does not report online by their typical reporting timeframe, the DCC will contact the respondent to collect the data via CATI. Flex designated cases are DCC-owned and credited to the DCCs, whether the data was collected via CATI or the web collection tool. Approximately 25 percent of all ongoing CES monthly collection occurs in the DCCS, where 56 percent of those cases are collected via Flex web collection. The DCCs are responsible for resolving all Flex cases that fail edit and screening checks. In addition, the DCCs conduct an ongoing program of refusal conversion.

CES respondents who are not Flex but also report via the web collection tool are called Web respondents. These firms are enrolled by the DCCs but are transferred to Web at the respondent’s request. Web respondents are also prompted monthly via email but are not contacted by the DCC for monthly nonresponse. Data collected through this method are subject to a series of edit and screening checks and the HelpDesk is required to resolve any failures prior to being transmitted to CES. About 10 percent of CES data are collected by Web.

The BLS Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Center enrolls and collects data from large firms, typically those with fifty or more worksites. Firms that report to the EDI Center provide an electronic file to CES each month in a prescribed file format. This file includes data for all of the firm's worksites. The file is received, processed, and edited by the EDI Center. About 56 percent of CES data are collected by EDI.

The CES DCCs collect less than one percent of CES data by fax.

For the establishments that do not use the above methods, data are collected using other web collection tools, email, or other special arrangements. Approximately eight percent of CES data are collected in these manners.

CES engages in continuous process improvement activities to improve quality and efficiency and often implements changes that may affect how data are collected or processed. For more information on the evolution of CES data collection, please visit:

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/one-hundred-years-of-current-employment-statistics-data-collection.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/one-hundred-years-of-current-employment-statistics-data-collection.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/one-hundred-years-of-current-employment-statistics-data-collection.htm

C.1.2.2 CES SURVEY UNITS

The CES survey consists of certainty selected and probability selected units. All government units, units with large levels of employment, and units processed by the EDI Center are certainty selections and remain in the CES survey indefinitely. All remaining units are selected by probability and remain in the CES survey for at least two years, but typically no more than four consecutive years. All new probability selections and some certainty selections are enrolled by the DCCs.

For more information on the CES sample, please visit: https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm

C.2 SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

C.2.1 OBJECTIVE

The contractor shall provide non-personal services for the CES program with survey data collection services at the government Data Collection Centers in Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Kansas City, MO; and Fort Walton Beach, FL. Limited telework flexibility is available under conditions listed in section C.4.2.7.

Further, the contractor shall provide Help Desk services in Suitland, MD. The contractor shall provide quality control, training, and project management to support contractor operations at the Data Collection Centers and Help Desk.

The government retains responsibility for CES survey methodology, procedures, and tools including:

• Sampling methodology and selection.

• Assignment of cases for enrollment and collection to Data Collection Centers.

• Data collection instruments, including all hardware, software, and dashboards.

• Policies and procedures for enrollment, collection, and refusal conversion.

• BLS-created training materials.

C.2.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

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

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

b) The base periods will begin on August 6, 2025.

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

The government reserves the right to extend the term of this contract action at the prices set forth in

Section B in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in clause 52.217-9 entitled, “Option to Extend the Term of the Contract”.

C.2.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

C.2.3.1 CES DATA COLLECTION CENTERS (DCCs) The DCCs are located in Federal government facilities in Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX and in https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm government leased space in Kansas City, MO and Fort Walton Beach, FL. Limited telework flexibility is available under conditions listed in section C.2.4.7. All four DCCs are responsible for cases nationwide; assignments are not made on a regional basis. All employees must live within commuting distance of the DCC they report to.

The DCCs are responsible for enrolling new sample units, known as cases, and the ongoing monthly collection of these cases. This work is primarily done using the government CATI and telephone system. During the initial months of collection by CATI, the DCCs work to transition respondents to the government web collection tool. Respondents that are unable or unwilling to provide data by web will be assigned by the DCC to permanent CATI collection. The government will send web respondents who fail to report reliably back to the DCC for CATI collection.

*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 each DCC and represents the maximum number of staff that can work at each 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.

DCC interviewers are expected to work diligently on address refinement and enrollment activities in the first half of the month, but staffing requirements peak during the two weeks leading up to the preliminary estimation deadline (CES 1st Closing), which is the final day of collection for each reference month. For more information on the CES production schedule, please see Appendix B – CES Schedule.

C.2.3.2 CES HELP DESK

The Help Desk is based in the BLS National Office in Suitland, MD. The Help Desk is primarily responsible for supporting web respondents. The Help Desk also manually enters data received at the National Office and resolves data quality issues.

Help Desk Address Hours of Operation Workstations*

DCC Address Hours of Operation* Workstations

Atlanta 61 Forsyth St, S.W.

Atlanta, GA 30303 6 am – 7 pm (Eastern) 72

Dallas

525 Griffin St Suite 221 Dallas, TX 75202 6 am – 7 pm (Central)

Kansas City

2300 Main St Room 11048 Kansas City, MO 64108

6 am – 7 pm (Central) 110

Fort Walton Beach

73 Eglin Pkwy Ste 303 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 6:30 am – 5:30 pm (Central) 115

Suitland, MD

Bureau of Labor Statistics 4600 Silver Hill Rd Hillcrest Heights, MD 20746

7:30 am – 8 pm (Eastern)

*The total number of CES Help Desk staff is 5, but this number may increase as determined by the government. The BLS headquarters is not expected to have physical space to house the CES Help Desk in the Suitland Federal Center. Help Desk interviewers will be granted 100% telework flexibility; however, they must still reside within commuting distance of the BLS headquarters. If physical space is secured for the CES Help Desk, Help Desk interviewers will be subject to the same telework flexibilities afforded to interviewers in the DCCs.

C.2.4 GENERAL INFORMATION

C.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 C.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 required to be a full-time position to support the CES 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.

C.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

• Inauguration Day (every 4 years) – DC only

C.2.4.3 UNSCHEDULED DISMISSALS

Unless requested by the Government Data Collection Center Manager (DCC Manager) 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 Government DCC Manager, 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 DCC Manager has the discretion to offer contractor staff the opportunity to telework for the remainder of the day. Contractor staff who elect to work from alternate locations on those days will not be compensated for their commuting time from the federal government facility to the alternate work locations.

C.2.4.4 CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

The contractor shall comply with the BLS Confidentiality and Security Requirements. Please see Appendix G – 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.

C.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.

C.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.

C.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 DCC Manager.

Contractor staff deemed eligible to telework under a Telework Plan approved by the government must complete the DOL Telework training requirements prior to being permitted to 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.

C.2.4.8 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED MATERIALS

C.2.4.8.1 FURNISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT

The government will provide office space for the Data Collection Centers 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.

The government will provide CATI and Help Desk processing software.

C.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.

C.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.

C.3 TASKS

The following tasks must be conducted within the guidelines of the BLS Data Integrity document. For more information, please see Appendix G – Data Integrity Document.

Task Sub-task Sub-task Number

ENROLLMENT ADDRESS REFINEMENT C.3.1.1

ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT OF NEW SAMPLE C.3.1.2

ENROLLMENT REFUSAL CONVERSION C.3.1.3

ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES C.3.1.4

COLLECTION MULTI-MODAL COLLECTION C.3.2.1

COLLECTION COLLECTION PERFORMANCE MEASURES C.3.2.2

HELP DESK WEB RESPONDENT SUPPORT C.3.3.1

HELP DESK WEB EDIT RECONCILIATION AND DATA

QUALITY

C.3.3.2

HELP DESK DATA PROCESSING C.3.3.3

HELP DESK OTHER HELP DESK SUPPORT ACTIVITIES C.3.3.4

HELP DESK HELP DESK PERFORMANCE MEASURES C.3.3.5

QUALITY CONTROL AND TRAINING GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE C.3.4.1

QUALITY CONTROL AND TRAINING CONTRACTOR QUALITY CONTROL C.3.4.2

QUALITY CONTROL AND TRAINING TRAINING C.3.4.3

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PHASE-IN OF WORK C.3.5.1

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES C.3.5.2

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PHASE-OUT OF WORK C.3.5.3

C.3.1 ENROLLMENT

C.3.1.1 ADDRESS REFINEMENT

C.3.1.1.1

The government will provide quarterly enrollment panels, containing business establishments that need to be enrolled into the CES survey over the next calendar quarter. A business establishment consists of a single Unemployment Insurance (UI) number, which can contain one or more business worksites with shared ownership in a single state. The government will cluster UIs by Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and load the resulting cases into the government CATI system.

The contractor shall distribute cases to contractor staff using the government CATI system. While the government provides enrollment panels on a quarterly basis, the contractor may exercise their discretion in when and how they choose to assign cases to interviewers. For more information, please see Appendix D – CES CATI System.

C.3.1.1.2

The government will provide case registry information that will usually contain the business name, UI, EIN, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, and address. Point of contact (POC) information, including name and telephone number, is sometimes provided to the contractor.

The contractor shall verify and update case registry information, confirm that the business is still operating, and call the establishment to identify a POC who will receive a physical or electronic survey enrollment package. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. No calls can be made from non-government furnished equipment. While working onsite, contractor staff must use government-designated telecommunication methods and protocols unless otherwise approved by the government. The contractor shall use workstation mode which connects the physical phone to the laptop in the interactive voice response system unless directed otherwise by the government. The contractor shall use session-initiated protocol station mode in the interactive voice response system while teleworking unless directed otherwise by the government. The contractor shall enter the POC information into the government CATI system. The contractor shall use the government CATI system to print forms.

C.3.1.1.3

The government will provide electronic or physical enrollment materials as needed.

The contractor shall prepare physical enrollment packages as needed, including cover letter, form, brochures, and pocket folder, for mailing by assembling materials and stuffing envelopes. The contractor shall prevent confidentiality breaches by verifying that inserts for each envelope are only for one POC.

The government will provide pre-paid postage envelopes for all physical enrollment packages. The contractor shall deliver completed enrollment packages to a designated onsite location for mail pick-up.

C.3.1.2 ENROLLMENT OF NEW SAMPLE

C.3.1.2.1

The contractor shall call the POC for the new enrollment case to verify physical address and obtain an email address. The contractor shall send POC an enrollment package and verify receipt. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. The contractor shall solicit survey participation, which typically includes the following steps:

• Explain the CES survey

• Detail the scope of the survey request

• Answer respondent questions

• Verify UI number

• Update respondent contact information

• Collect data for all CES data items that are available

• Determine if data are consistent with quarterly UI records, and

• Plan for future monthly collection

Survey enrollment typically requires multiple contacts to successfully convert a POC to a CES respondent. The contractor shall make the necessary number of contacts to complete enrollment. The contractor shall work to convert initial refusals to productive cases before marking initial refusals as final refusals. The contractor shall identify another POC or transfer the case to a different interviewer if necessary, in order to convert an initial refusal into a productive case.

C.3.1.2.2

The contractor shall provide at least one bilingual (English/Spanish) staff member at each DCC to enroll and collect data from Spanish speaking respondents. (Note:

enrollment and collection in Spanish is rare, far less than one percent of cases).

C.3.1.3 REFUSAL CONVERSION

The government will identify previous final refusal cases that should be re-attempted for enrollment. Typically, the government will wait for at least one year after initial attempted enrollment to provide these refusal cases to the contractor. The government will load these refusal conversion cases into the government CATI system.

The contractor shall distribute refusal conversion cases to contractor staff using the government CATI system. Interviewers should take the Refusal Aversion Training prior to engaging in refusal conversion activities. The contractor shall attempt to obtain survey participation from the cases selected for refusal conversion by following the steps for Address Refinement and Enrollment.

C.3.1.4 ENROLLMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES

C.3.1.4.1 QUALITY STANDARDS

C.3.1.4.1.1

The contractor shall attempt to enroll all new sample cases provided by the government within a calendar quarter. The contractor must attempt to contact all of the approximately 70,000 cases provided per year for enrollment (this number can vary by plus or minus 5% per year).

C.3.1.4.1.2

The contractor shall attempt to enroll all refusal conversion cases provided by the government within a calendar quarter. The contractor is expected to contact the approximately 8,000 cases that will be provided per year (this number can vary by plus or minus 20% per year).

C.3.1.4.2 ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL)

C.3.1.4.2.1 QUARTERLY PANEL ENROLLMENT RESPONSE (EXCLUDING UI NUMBER

ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION)

The following rates are calculated for each quarterly panel based on the number of months since panel assignment at CES’s first revision of estimates (CES 2nd Closing). The government will calculate these rates at the aggregate level and for each individual DCC. The contractor shall achieve an aggregate level that is equal to or greater than the rates listed in the chart below and ensure that no DCC is more than five percentage points lower than any of the rates listed in the chart below. For more information on the calculation of these rates, please see Appendix C – CES Response Rate Calculation.

C.3.1.4.2.2 COLLECTION, UI NUMBER ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION, AND REFUSAL

CONVERSION

The following rates are calculated for each quarterly panel based on the number of months since panel assignment at CES 1st Closing. The government will calculate these rates at the aggregate level and for each individual DCC. The expectation of the contractor is that the aggregate level is equal to or greater than the rates listed in the chart below and that each DCC is no more than five percentage points lower than any of the rates listed in the chart below. For more information on the calculation of these rates, please see Appendix C – CES

Response Rate Calculation.

Rate 2nd month

3rd month

4th month

5th month

6th month

Enrollment Response 40% 60% 75% 75% 75% AE Hours & Earnings Response - - 55% 55% 55% PE Hours & Earnings Response - - 45% 45% 45%

UI Enrollment Verification - - 95% - -

Refusal Conversion - - 25% 25% 25%

C.3.1.4.3 MONITORING METHOD

The contractor PM and supervisory team shall monitor address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion activities by analyzing reports detailing performance metrics at the individual and collective levels. The contractor is expected to remediate address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion issues as they are identified to increase the likelihood that acceptable quality levels are met.

The government will be monitoring performance concurrently and notifying the contractor PM of any potential issues they have identified.

At the monthly meeting between the contractor and the government, the prior month’s address refinement, enrollment, and refusal conversion attempts will be reviewed and discussed.

C.3.2 COLLECTION

C.3.2.1 MULTI-MODAL COLLECTION

The contractor shall collect monthly CES data primarily via CATI. The contractor shall collect data at the earliest time available from each respondent. The contractor shall collect data according to the CES production schedule with the goal of maximizing collection by CES 1st Closing. The contractor shall collect data that were not available by CES 1st Closing as soon as they become available, preferably before CES 2nd Closing.

The contractor shall be responsible for DCC-owned cases collected by Flex reporting by resolving edit and screening errors, even when there are respondent notes, and calling the respondent for parameter edits within the policy guidance of the data integrity document.

The contractor shall work with respondents during the initial phase of CATI collection period with the goal of preparing the respondent for a successful transition to Flex Reporting. The government can change the length of this initial CATI collection period at its discretion. The contractor shall use this initial CATI collection to effectively train the respondent on providing accurate and timely data in preparation for moving the respondent to web reporting. The contractor shall work to minimize the number of respondents that remain on permanent CATI, which should be reserved only for respondents that are unable or unwilling to submit data on the government web collection tool.

The contractor shall ensure that respondent contact information remains up to date. If the respondent is no longer available at the establishment, the contractor shall identify and enroll a new respondent. The contractor shall verify the UI number(s) for each case at least annually.

The contractor shall notify the government if the establishment has been part of a merger, acquisition, or experienced any other major structural change.

The contractor shall notify the government if a case needs to be transferred to another DCC and assist with the transfer and re-assignment of the case. Transfers between DCCs are necessary when either the contractor or the government identifies that a case being collected at one DCC shares a common respondent with a case being collected at another DCC.

The government will provide updates, when applicable, to UI account information. These changes typically consist of updates to the UI number, changes to the worksites within that UI account, changes to NAICS industry code, or similar changes related to the structure or classification of the UI account. When needed, the contractor shall confirm these updates with the respondent and ensure that data reported match the updated UI account information.

C.3.2.1.1 CATI COLLECTION

C.3.2.1.1.1

The government will provide a CATI system designed specifically for CES collection. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. For more information, please see Appendix D – CES CATI System.

The government will email monthly reminders to Flex respondents requesting the current reference month’s data. The government may at some point in the future send electronic monthly reminders to CATI respondents.

C.3.2.1.1.2

The contractor shall call respondents that have agreed to participate in the CES survey to collect all data items for the current month and any missing data for the previous two months. The contractor shall enter data provided by the respondent into the government CATI system.

The contractor shall review and address edit and screening errors flagged by the government CATI system. The contractor shall verify the data with the respondent and either correct it or address it by entering an appropriate comment code and documentation in the notes section.

The contractor shall schedule with the respondent a date and time for collecting data for the subsequent month and enter this date and time into the government CATI system. The contractor shall attempt to schedule future collection so that data can be collected before the next month’s CES 1st Closing.

The government will provide a notes template used to record all pertinent information about all contacts with respondents. The contractor shall enter notes in the government CATI system based on this template.

C.3.2.1.1.3

During the initial period of CATI collection, the contractor shall prepare respondents for a transition to reporting data via the government provided web collection tool. The contractor shall collect and enter a valid email address into the government CATI system. The contractor shall provide detailed information to the respondent on entering data on the BLS web collection tool.

The contractor shall collect data by permanent CATI from respondents who are unable or unwilling to report by web. For these cases, the contractor shall document in the case notes why the respondent will report by permanent CATI and not by web.

C.3.2.1.2 WEB COLLECTION

C.3.2.1.2.1

The government will provide and operate a web collection tool(s). The government will provide all hardware, software and technical staff to support the web collection tool(s). The government will develop updates, both major and minor, to the web collection tool(s). For more information, please see Appendix E – CES Web Collection Tool.

The government will email or print and mail upon request replacement forms, including instructions, to each web respondent annually. Note: these forms are used by web respondents as reference and not used for actual data submission.

The government will send monthly email reminders to web respondents. The current schedule for sending these emails is listed in the chart below. The government may alter this schedule in the future, based on either internal or external research, with the goal of improving web response.

Type of Reminder

Sent to 1st Closing 2nd Closing

Advance Notice All web respondents*

12th of the month or next business day

Not sent

Non-response prompt (NRP)

Nonrespondents* About 10 days before 1st closing

About 10 days before 2nd closing

Last chance Nonrespondents* Morning of 1st Closing

Not sent

*Respondents can elect not to receive email prompts.

The contractor shall place Non-Response Prompt (NRP) telephone calls to web respondents who did not submit data after receiving NRP emails. This should occur during the week leading up to CES 1st Closing and the week leading up to CES 2nd Closing. If the contractor is not able to speak with the respondent during the first call, the contractor shall place a follow-up call to the respondent to remind him or her to report by web. If the contractor is unable to speak to the respondent during a follow-up call, the contractor shall leave a voicemail reminder to report data. If the respondent offers to provide data by telephone instead of by web, the contractor shall enter these data into the government CATI system. The contractor shall use the government CATI system telephone auto dialer for all outgoing calls. The government may alter this schedule in the future, based on either internal/external research or program priorities, with the goal of maximizing the total response rate and/or minimizing respondent burden.

C.3.2.1.2.2

The government will provide monthly delinquent quarterly panels, containing web cases that have not provided data for two or more consecutive months.

The government will identify these cases and load them into the government

CATI system.

The contractor shall distribute these delinquent cases to contractor staff.

The contractor shall call these delinquent respondents to resolve any issues that are preventing successful web reporting. If the respondent is unable or unwilling to return to reporting data by web, the contractor shall collect data by permanent CATI using the government CATI system.

C.3.2.1.3 FAX COLLECTION

C.3.2.1.3.1

The contractor shall minimize the use of fax collection and shall use fax collection only to avert a refusal. The government may, at its discretion, decide to discontinue fax collection during the term of this contract.

C.3.2.1.3.2

The contractor shall fax monthly reminders to fax respondents using the government CATI system. The contractor shall distribute data received via fax to assigned contractor staff. The contractor shall manually enter data into the government CATI system. The contractor shall review and address edit and screening errors flagged by the government CATI system. The contractor shall verify the data with the respondent and either correct or address the data by entering an appropriate comment code and documenting in the notes section.

C.3.2.1.4 EMAIL COLLECTION

C.3.2.1.4.1

Due to the manual work required to collect data via email, the contractor shall only offer email collection as an option to respondents to avert a refusal. The contractor shall follow all established rules and guidelines on the use of email for data collection provided by the government.

C.3.2.1.4.2

The government will email monthly reminders to email respondents.

C.3.2.1.4.3

The contractor shall manually enter data into the government CATI system from emails received. The contractor shall review and address edit and screening errors flagged by the government CATI system. The contractor shall verify the data with the respondent and either correct or address the data by entering an appropriate comment code and documenting in the notes section.

C.3.2.2 COLLECTION PERFORMANCE MEASURES

C.3.2.2.1 QUALITY STANDARDS

C.3.2.2.1.1

The contractor shall attempt to collect data for all cases before CES 1st Closing.

The contractor shall attempt to collect data for all cases that did not provide data by CES 1st Closing before CES 2nd Closing.

C.3.2.2.1.2

The contractor shall attempt collection on all DCC owned cases provided by the government. The contractor is expected to contact the approximately 80,000 DCC cases provided monthly for CATI or Flex collection.

C.3.2.2.1.3

The contractor shall contact all NRP telephone cases provided by the government. This includes approximately 15,000 cases monthly during the week leading up to CES 1st Closing and 2,000 cases monthly during the week leading up to CES 2nd Closing (these numbers can vary plus or minus 20%).

C.3.2.2.1.4

The contractor shall attempt collection on all delinquent cases provided by the government. The contractor is expected to contact the approximately 5,000 per year (this number can vary plus or minus 20%).

C.3.2.2.2 ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL)

The following rates are calculated based on the CES closing schedule. The government will calculate these rates at the aggregate level and for each individual DCC. The contractor shall achieve an aggregate level that is equal to or greater than the rates listed in the chart below and ensure that no DCC is more than five percentage points lower than any of the rates listed in the chart below. For more information on the calculation of these rates, please see Appendix C – CES Response Rate Calculation.

Rate 1st Closing 2nd Closing

DCC Collection 85% 92%

Total Response (DCC and web) 64% 72%

DCC Collection - AE Hours & Earnings 50% -

DCC Collection - PE Hours & Earnings 40% -

Web/TDE Nonresponse Prompting 100% 100%

The following rates are calculated based on the number of months since assignment.

For more information on the calculation of these rates, please see Appendix C – CES Response Rate Calculation.

Rate 2nd month

3rd month

4th month

5th month

6th month

UI Re-verification 95% - - - -

Delinquent conversion - - 65% 65% 65%

C.3.2.2.3 MONITORING METHOD

The contractor PM and supervisory team shall monitor collection activities throughout the collection window by analyzing reports detailing performance metrics at the individual and collective levels. The contractor is expected to remediate collection issues as they are identified during the collection period to increase the likelihood that acceptable quality levels are met.

The government will be monitoring performance concurrently and notifying the contractor PM of any potential issues they have identified.

At the monthly meeting between the contractor and the government, the prior month’s collection activities will be reviewed and discussed.

C.3.3 HELP DESK

C.3.3.1 WEB RESPONDENT SUPPORT

C.3.3.1.1 The contractor shall provide coverage for incoming telephone calls from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET on all government workdays (business days excluding federal holidays).

The government will provide initial training on handling help desk inquiries. The contractor shall provide subsequent training.

The contractor shall answer incoming telephone calls from web respondents and manually enter any data received into government-provided software. The contractor shall be prepared to handle questions about how to report data and what type of data will need to be reported. The contractor shall forward any technical or otherwise complex questions to the government. The contractor shall process approximately 350 incoming calls per month.

C.3.3.1.2 The contractor shall, in support of web data collection, reply to respondent emails in the CESMAIL email account. The contractor shall process approximately 200-300 emails per month.

C.3.3.2 WEB EDIT RECONCILIATION AND DATA QUALITY

C.3.3.2.1 The government will provide a list each day of reports whose microdata failed edit & screening tests for All Employee, Payroll, and/or Hours. The contractor shall call web respondents whose microdata failed these edit & screening tests for All Employee, Payroll, and/or Hours. The contractor shall obtain corrected data when possible or assign explanatory comment codes and enter these data into government-provided software. This process is referred to as Edit Reconciliation (ER). The contractor shall process approximately 200 cases per month.

C.3.3.2.3

Commented [LL1]: Do we want to say this can be changed during the contract and the government can replace email collection activities with other data collection?

Commented [LL2R1]: This is fine as is.

The government will provide a daily sync report containing a list of reports with a response code of 74. The contractor shall contact respondents via telephone or email to research web reports with a response code of 74, which indicates that a worksite-level report, or ‘child,’ has responded instead of the expected aggregate report, or ‘parent.’

The contractor shall ensure the respondent is using the correct report ID and obtain data for the parent report when possible. The contractor shall process response code 74 cases when available.

C.3.3.2.4 The government will provide a daily sync report containing a list of reports with multiple pay systems. The contractor shall contact web respondents via telephone or email to research units with multiple pay systems and ensure that these reports are categorized correctly and are accurately reporting earnings data. The contractor shall process multi-pay cases when available.

C.3.3.2.5 CES program stakeholders within the government will generate On-Track tickets, which is an internal system used to seek clarification of collected data. The contractor shall answer these On-Track tickets for data collected by web . This will involve placing telephone calls to respondents to verify data including but not limited to: address, employment level, UI number, and EIN. The contractor shall process between 20-75 On- Track tickets per month.

C.3.3.2.6 The contractor shall create On-Track tickets for reports that have large differences in All Employees data reported to the CES program versus the QCEW program.