Background Check Services IFB 276017.pdf

BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES – IFB # 276017 Page 1 of 8

PENNSYLVANIA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD

INVITATION FOR BID 276017

BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES FOR PROSPECTIVE

PENNSYLVANIA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD EMPLOYEES

OVERVIEW

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) conducts approximately 2,500 background checks on prospective employees each year. The PLCB is seeking a qualified Contractor to perform such background checks in accordance with the Contract Specifications set forth in this Invitation to Bid (IFB).

ISSUING OFFICE

This IFB is issued by the PLCB, Purchasing and Contract Administration Division, Room 212, Northwest Office Building, 910 Capital Street, Harrisburg, PA 17124-0001. Tasha Baker is the Issuing Officer and the sole point of contact at the PLCB for this IFB. Email: tasbaker@pa.gov.

PLCB CONTRACTING OFFICER

The PLCB Contracting Officer is the PLCB official authorized to enter and administer contracts and make written determinations with respect to contracts. The PLCB Contracting Officer is Tammy Wenrich, Procurement Specialist 4 of Purchasing and Contract Administration, Room 212, Northwest Office Building, 910 Capital Street, Harrisburg, PA 17124-0001.

PLCB CONTACT PERSON

The PLCB Contact Person, defined as the PLCB employee charged with the day-to-day supervision of the performance of the services requested and who interacts with the Contractor, is Amanda Piro, Human Resource Analyst 5, Room 401, Northwest Office Building, 910 Capital Street, Harrisburg, PA 17124-0001.

SUPPLIER REGISTRATION

The PLCB uses an online self-service Oracle Supplier Portal (the “Portal”) to facilitate its business needs with contracted suppliers. Bidders are required to register in the Portal as a "Non- Merchandise" supplier of goods and services. During the registration process, every bidder must complete a questionnaire to verify their supplier type (Merchandise or Non-Merchandise). Every bidder must enter the details of the "PLCB Purchasing team contact person". This information can be found in the "Issuing Office" section on Page 1 of this IFB.

Registration must be completed before a bid can be submitted. Information on how to register and related training can be found by clicking the link below. (Please Note: A PLCB Supplier number will NOT be immediately generated upon submission of registration. The request will be processed within 3-5 business days from date received. It is recommended that bidders allow sufficient time to register before the bid deadline).

mailto:@pa.gov

BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES – IFB # 276017 Page 2 of 8 https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/supplier-vendors/goods-and-services-suppliers.html

Upon contract award, the Contractor will use the Portal to manage and update account information, upload and view invoices, view and acknowledge POs and related documents, view payment information, and track payment status.

It is the Contractor's responsibility to ensure that the supplier information contained in the Portal is accurate and complete. Failure to update the Portal of any changes to supplier information may result in delayed payments.

QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this IFB must be submitted via email only, with the subject line entitled “IFB #276017 Questions” to the Issuing Officer, Tasha Baker, at tasbaker@pa.gov no later than Friday, October 23, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET. Bidders shall not contact the Issuing Officer by any other means. All questions received will be answered, in writing, and such responses shall be posted to the Department of General Services (“DGS”) website at www.emarketplace.state.pa.us as an addendum to the IFB by 1:00 PM ET on Friday, October 30, 2026.

All questions and official responses are an addendum to, and part of, this IFB. The PLCB is not bound by any verbal information, nor is the PLCB bound by any written information not part of the IFB or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. Questions submitted to the IFB are not considered to be, nor are they treated as, a protest to the specifications or of the solicitation.

CONTENT OF AND ADDENDA TO THE IFB

If the Issuing Office deems it necessary to revise any part of this IFB before the bid response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the DGS website at www.emarketplace.state.pa.us as well as posting within the Portal. It is the bidder’s responsibility to periodically check each system for any new information or addenda to the IFB. When an addendum is posted to the Portal, bidders who have already submitted a bid will receive a system-generated email notification alerting them to the change. The bidder must log into the Portal to review and acknowledge the addendum to have their bid considered. Failure to review and acknowledge the addendum will be considered a non-responsive bid and result in the bid rejection.

THE CONTENT OF THIS SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT, ITS ATTACHMENTS AND ADDENDA

SUPERSEDES ANY LANGUAGE IN THE PORTAL SHOULD THERE BE A CONFLICT. For example, if this specification contains requirements regarding bid validity or delivery date, then no language in the Portal (or bidder entry into the Portal, if solicited via an entry field) will change those requirements.

RESPONSE DATA

Bidders must submit their bids through the Portal. See the Supplier Registration paragraph above for further information on the submission process.

NOTE TO AVOID DISQUALIFICATION:

• ATTACHMENT #1 - BID FORM BOP-1206 must be signed in ink by an official legally authorized to bind the Contractor to its provisions. Failure to sign the Bid Form BOP- 1206 in accordance with these signatory requirements shall disqualify the bid.

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/supplier-vendors/goods-and-services-suppliers.html http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/

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• All applicable bid documents must be timely uploaded through the Portal. See “Required

Documents” below to avoid rejection of the bid.

• For this IFB, the bid must remain valid for at least 90 days. The contents of the Contractor’s bid will be incorporated into the contract. See Supplier Registration section above for more information on accessing the Portal and registering as a Supplier.

To be considered, submit the bid through the Portal on or before 1:00 PM ET on Friday, November 6, 2026. ALL BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE PORTAL. BIDS

SUBMITTED BY EMAIL OR HARD COPY WILL BE REJECTED AND WILL NOT BE

CONSIDERED.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The following documents must be included with the bid. Failure to include these required documents will be considered a non-responsive bid and result in bid rejection.

1. Attachment #1 – Bid Form BOP-1206 Referenced on Page 3

2. Attachment #2 – Worker Protection Form Referenced on Page 4

3. Insurance Certificate Referenced on Page 4

SUBMITTING A BID

Line-item pricing must be submitted through the Portal in its entirety with no variations or conditions. No other forms of pricing will be accepted.

For this bid, quantities in the Portal are estimated. No minimum number of background checks is guaranteed, and the number required may exceed the estimated number.

Contractors should assume that bid price includes all fees. It is PLCB’s expectation that the bid price will, in the aggregate, account for the Contractor’s costs. The Contractor will be responsible for deciding what price will suffice for this purpose and will be bound to that price for the term of the contract.

APPLICABLE LAWS

The procedures and methods to be used by the Contractor to perform background checks shall conform with all current federal and state employment statutes and guidelines governing public agency human resource administration.

METHOD OF AWARD

This will be a single award contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, whose bid will be determined by the Total Cost for all requirements and criteria set forth in this IFB.

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INSURANCE

For each year of the contract, the selected Contractor shall furnish a Certificate of Insurance indicating that the following insurance coverage related to the handling of confidential information is in force during the term of the contract. Documented evidence, such as a Certificate of Insurance or other proof acceptable to the PLCB, that insurance will be extended to the Contractor must accompany the bid. Such policies shall name the PLCB as an additional insured on certificates when issued and contain a provision that coverage afforded under the policies will not be canceled or changed until at least thirty (30) days prior written notice has been given to the PLCB:

(a) Professional and Technology-Based Services Liability Insurance (insuring against damages and claim expenses as a result of claims arising from any actual or alleged wrongful acts in performing cyber and technology activities) in the amount of $2,000,000, per accident/occurrence/annual aggregate.

(b) Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions Insurance in the amount of $2,000,000, per accident/occurrence/annual aggregate, covering the Contractor, its employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors in the performance of all services.

(c) Network/Cyber Liability Insurance (including coverage for Professional and Technology-Based Services Liability if not covered under Company’s Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions Insurance referenced above) in the amount of $1,000,000, per accident/occurrence/annual aggregate, covering the Contractor, its employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors in the performance of all services.

(d) Comprehensive crime insurance in an amount of not less than $5,000,000 per claim.

FAILURE TO SUBMIT THE REQUESTED INSURANCE INFORMATION ABOVE WILL

RESULT IN BID REJECTION.

WORKER PROTECTION AND INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE ORDER

This procurement is subject to Executive Order 2021-06 Worker Protection and Investment.

Bidders must complete ATTACHMENT #2 - BOP-2201 Worker Protection and Investment.

FAILURE TO SUBMIT THIS FORM WILL RESULT IN BID REJECTION.

RUSSIA BELARUS CERTIFICATION

This procurement is subject to the Restrictions for Associations with Russan and Belarus Act 57 of 2023 (Act 57), which prohibits the Commonwealth and its agencies from contracting with, awarding grants to, or extending tax credits for any individual or business linked to the governments of Russia or Belarus, according to criteria established by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Act 57 requires agencies to verify that bidders are not on the Treasury-published list of disqualified entities. The PLCB will certify the Bidder’s compliance with Act 57 and complete a “Russia/Belarus Certification” form BOP-2401.

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BID TABULATION RESULTS

Results of this bid will be posted within 48 hours of bid opening to the DGS website at http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/. Bid results do not confer any contractual rights until a formal written contract has been executed by all necessary PLCB and Commonwealth officials and a Notice To Proceed (NTP) letter has been issued. Any additional information will require a Right to Know request found at http://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/CitizensGuide.cfm.

REJECTION OF INVITATION FOR BID/CANCELLATION OF SOLICITATION

The PLCB reserves the unqualified right to reject any and/or all bids received for this IFB, to waive technical defects or any informality in bids, and to accept or reject any part of any bid or to cancel this IFB, if, in its sole judgment, it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The IFB’s Contract is governed by the PLCB’s Standard Contract Terms and Conditions for Non- Merchandise Purchase Orders (Form 54-FA-2.1). Form 54-FA-2.1 is attached as ATTACHMENT # 3 - Form 54-FA-2.1 and incorporated by reference.

TERM OF CONTRACT

The contract term is one year from the Effective Date. The PLCB reserves the right to renew this Contract for 2 additional 1 year options.

PRIME CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY AND SUBCONTRACTING

The selected Contractor is responsible for all services offered in this IFB. Further, the selected Contractor is the PLCB’s sole point of contact regarding contractual matters.

Subcontracting is not permitted. The Contractor is responsible for all services provided on their bid.

INCURRING COST

The PLCB is not liable for any cost incurred by anyone prior to issuance of a Notice to Proceed letter. The PLCB will pay the contractor only for services rendered at the rates stated in the contract.

INVOICING

If assistance is needed to create and submit an invoice through the Portal, please review the course on how suppliers enter an invoice in the Portal and/or quick reference guide located on the PLCB’s website at the following link: https://www.lcb.pa.gov/JoinOurTeam/Pages/ERP- Resources-for-Goods-and-Services-Suppliers.aspx

PAYMENT INQUIRES/QUESTIONS

Any questions or inquiries concerning payment of invoices shall be emailed to Comptroller Operations at: RA-PLCBExceptionProcess@pa.gov.

http://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/CitizensGuide.cfm https://www.lcb.pa.gov/JoinOurTeam/Pages/ERP-Resources-for-Goods-and-Services-Suppliers.aspx https://www.lcb.pa.gov/JoinOurTeam/Pages/ERP-Resources-for-Goods-and-Services-Suppliers.aspx mailto:RA-PLCBExceptionProcess@pa.gov

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PENNSYLVANIA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD

INVITATION FOR BID # 276017

BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES FOR PROSPECTIVE

PENNSYLVANIA LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD EMPLOYEES

CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS

SCOPE OF WORK

The PLCB is seeking a Contractor to conduct background checks for each prospective PLCB employees. For each background check, Contractor shall generate a report in accordance with the Reports Required section set forth below. The Liquor Code requires that “no person convicted of an infamous crime may be employed as a member or employe by the board or enforcement bureau.” 47 P.S. § 2-210(c). Further, “Infamous crime” is defined in the Code as “a violation and conviction for an offense which would disqualify an individual from holding public office pursuant to section 6 of Article II of the Constitution of Pennsylvania; a conviction within the preceding ten

(10) years for a violation of this section or of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4113 (relating to misapplication of entrusted property and property of government or financial institutions), Ch. 47 (relating to bribery and corrupt influence), Ch. 49 (relating to falsification and intimidation), Ch. 51 (relating to obstructing governmental operations) or Ch. 53 (relating to abuse of office); or a violation of the laws of this Commonwealth or another state or the Federal Government for which an individual has been convicted within the preceding ten (10) years and which is classified as a felony. 47 Pa.

Stat. Ann. § 2-210(n).

Accordingly, each report shall date back ten years from the date the vacancy was posted on the Commonwealth’s state employment website, currently located at:

https://www.employment.pa.gov/.

SPECIFICATIONS

The background check shall include the following information, derived from the appropriate databases:

1. Social Security Trace – Name and Address Verification

2. Primary Source Criminal Background Check – Includes:

• National, state, county, and National Sex Offender Registry searches

• All names used in Pennsylvania and outside of Pennsylvania

• Misdemeanor and felony records found within the last 10 years, measured from the date of conviction. Must include all pending felony charges that exist, even if they are older than 10 years. Motor vehicle records will only be required when specifically requested by the PLCB for positions that require a driver’s license as an essential function of the job.

• Upon completion of each criminal background check, the Contractor must generate and submit a written history report in PDF format.

https://www.employment.pa.gov/

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• Complete criminal background reports must be submitted within three business days from the date of PLCB’s request. Submission within one or two business days is preferred.

The Contractor must be able to meet all the below requirements:

• Contractor must be Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) accredited.

• Contractor must have a minimum of 5 years experience performing background checks.

• Contractor must provide direct account support-based customer service.

• Information can come from outside sources, but work must be performed by Contractor’s in-house staff. Outsourcing to third party services will not be acceptable.

• Contractor is not required to be located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

• Contractor must provide source-verified court records.

• Contractor’s platform must be capable of limiting PLCB users to requesting only a Social

Security Trace and Criminal Background Check. PLCB users should not be able to request any other background checks.

• Contractor’s platform must include safeguards against duplicate requests. If a PLCB user has made a request for the same individual within the last 30 days, a duplicate request must be declined by Contractor’s platform or alternatively, the Contractor must provide a process for PLCB users to check the last 30 days’ requests before submitting a request.

• Contractor must have an electronic interface for PLCB users to submit requests.

• Contractor must treat all information provided to it by the PLCB, and produced by it for the

PLCB, as “confidential” in accordance with the Terms and Conditions in Attachment #3, and have the capability to encrypt all such information at rest and in transit.

REPORTS REQUIRED

Upon completion of each background check, Contractor shall generate a written history report, inclusive of all records found within the last ten years. Contractor shall electronically submit the report, in PDF format, within three business days from the date of PLCB’s request. A report within one or two business days is preferred.

In addition to Contractor provided reports through the electronic interface mentioned above, the PLCB must be able to run independent reports that include the below search options:

• Search by any (and unlimited) date ranges

• Search by specific PLCB organization

• Search by completed reports

• Search by incomplete and/or pending reports

The below data points must be included in each independent report:

• PLCB Organization that submitted the request

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• PLCB Requestor Name that submitted the request

• Date Ordered

• Date Completed

• Average Time of Service

• Candidate Name

• Candidate DOB (month and day)

• Report Status (complete or pending)

• Records Found (yes or no)

Contractor must be available and responsive to questions and concerns about reports, as well as invoicing within 24 hours, Monday through Friday.

PRICING & FEES

The bid price includes all fees, and the bid price will, in the aggregate, account for the Contractor’s costs. The bidder will be responsible for deciding what price will suffice for this purpose and will be bound to that price for the term of the contract. A price increase is permissible at any of the renewal terms exercised in PLCB’s discretion, but may not exceed 5% of the prior year’s price.