ESBD_389299_1736480465373_RFP #25-19 Employer of Record.pdf

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 1

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) #25-19

EMPLOYER OF RECORD

PROPOSED SOLICITATION SCHEDULE

This schedule may be modified or changed at the sole discretion of SJCCD.

DATE ACTION

January 10, 2025 RFP issued.

January 21, 2025

Questions and/or Clarifications Deadline

Requests for questions and clarifications regarding RFP documents shall be submitted through the Questions tab in IonWave by 5:00 p.m. Central Time to be considered.

January 23, 2025 Issuance of final addendum, if necessary.

January 30, 2025

Proposal Submission Deadline

All proposal documents shall be submitted before 2:00 p.m. Central Time in IonWave.

The RFP opening will take place digitally through IonWave immediately following time due. A list of vendors who submitted will be made available upon written request to the Procurement Contact.

Feb. 17, 2025 – Feb. 20, 2025 Virtual Presentations / Interviews (top-ranked firms only) “may” be scheduled within these dates.

March/April 2025 Recommendation of award and approval to enter into contract.

Award will be announced after approval received.

E-Bidding Website: IonWave:

https://sanjac.ionwave.net

PROCUREMENT CONTACT

Farrah Khalil, Buyer 281-998-6326 farrah.khalil@sjcd.edu https://sanjac.ionwave.net/ mailto:farrah.khalil@sjcd.edu

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 2

SCOPE OF WORK

San Jacinto Community College District (“SJCCD” or “College”) is soliciting sealed proposals from qualified firms to provide employer of record services.

All work performed must be in compliance with existing federal, state and local codes, statutes and requirements.

SJCCD is a public community college district organized under Chapter 130 of the Texas Education Code and is tax exempt in the State of Texas.

This scope of work covers the requirements to provide SJCCD with employer of record services, which shall include, but is not limited to the following:

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to procure an employer of record firm to manage the tax requirements, payroll processing, worker’s compensation, and benefits for the College’s out-of-state employees. The College will govern and manage the employee’s work, but all out of state employees will be hired by and considered personnel of the awarded firm.

2. BACKGROUND

SJCCD serves approximately 30,000+ students across five different campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Additional information regarding the College can be found at www.sanjac.edu/about.

3. EMPLOYER OF RECORD RESPONSIBILITIES

a. Awarded firm shall provide and administer competitive benefits packages, inclusive of health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, disability, retirement, and 401(k), to all out-of-state employees.

b. Awarded firm shall register with respective State Tax Commissions and remit payments and tax returns for out-of-state employees to comply with the following:

• State and local payroll taxes

• State specific labor laws

• Unemployment Insurance premiums

• Worker’s Compensation Insurance premiums

c. Awarded firm shall manage all out-of-state employees’ payroll by conducting and completing the following tasks:

• Calculating and withholding employee taxes

• Complying with state unemployment insurance mandates

• Calculating and distributing taxes and other employee payments http://www.sanjac.edu/about

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 3

• Providing all applicable payroll information and documentation to the appropriate federal, state, local municipalities as requested/required

d. Awarded firm shall process required monthly/quarterly payroll tax forms and complete all state and local tax deposits that adhere to applicable state laws and reporting requirements.

e. Awarded firm shall distribute invoices to the College’s Accounts Payable department on a monthly basis.

f. Awarded firm shall determine and comply with any state-based employer obligations applicable to an employee working exclusively from a state other than Texas.

g. Awarded firm shall ensure new hires are properly onboarded.

h. Awarded firm shall ensure employees are properly offboarded.

i. Awarded firm shall ensure that all College equipment is returned, via the College’s defined Equipment Return process, if applicable.

j. Awarded firm shall retain all records of services, inclusive of records of payment and fulfillment of compliance requirements.

k. Awarded firm shall provide SJCCD prompt access to any designated employee’s records upon request.

l. Awarded firm shall provide an online portal, with a user-friendly dashboard, whose accesses and services shall include, but are not limited to the following:

• College’s ability to submit new employee requests

• College’s ability to check employee onboarding status and progress

• College’s ability to check offboarding status and progress

• College’s ability to manage employee assignments

• College’s ability to pull employee reports

• Employee’s ability to manage personal information

• Employee’s ability to enter time and expenses

• Employee’s ability to view and download tax forms and paystubs

m. Awarded firm shall provide virtual training session(s) for College staff to ensure proficiency in above described online portal.

n. Awarded firm shall assume full legal responsibility for employees, including the handling of employment-related lawsuits, management of employee(s) legal defense, and incurrence of any/all resulting settlements or judgments.

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 4

4. College Locations

a. District Offices – 4620 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, TX 77504

b. Central Campus – 8060 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena, TX 77505

c. North Campus – 5800 Uvalde, Houston, TX 77049

d. South Campus – 13735 Beamer Road, Houston, TX 77089

e. Maritime – 3700 Old Hwy 146, La Porte, TX 77571

f. Generation Park Campus – 13455 Lockwood Rd., Houston, TX 77044

g. Edge Center – 13150 Space Center Blvd., Houston, TX 77059

5. Supplier Diversity Reporting

SJCCD does not give preference to historically underutilized or small business in the awarding of contracts. However, if the awarded contractor utilizes a subcontractor(s) to fulfill the proposed requirements, the contractor will be required to track and report the amount paid to each subcontractor along with the subcontractor’s supplier diversity classification. This information will only be used for the purpose of statistical tracking. The reportable classifications include:

• African American

• Asian Pacific American

• Caucasian

• Hispanic American

• Native American

• Small Business

• Veteran Owned

• Minority Owned

• Woman Owned

• LGBTQ

• Other / Non-disclosed

6. Special Requirements

Employees of awarded firm who plan to visit any college property or college facility must first acquire an SJC ID badge via the nearest campus Admission’s Office. SJC ID badge must be visibly worn, at all times, when on college property or facility.

7. Contract Term

The contract term, if any, for contract(s) awarded from this solicitation will be three (3) years with renewal options of two (2) two-year time periods subject to the termination provisions as further described in the sample contract terms and conditions on the Attachments tab section of this solicitation.

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 5

EVALUATION CRITERIA

An Evaluation Committee will review all proposals according to the criteria stated herein. The committee’s evaluations will be based on all available information, including qualification statements, subsequent interviews/presentations, reports, discussions, reference checks, and other appropriate review.

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Factor Points

Section 1: Qualifications and Experience of Firm 10

Section 2: Qualifications and Experience of Personnel 10

Section 3: Scope Understanding, Approach, and Management 35

Section 4: References 10

Section 5: Exceptions to Terms and Conditions 5

Section 6: Price Proposal* 30

Total 100

* The price proposal for each firm will be evaluated in comparison with the other firms’ price proposals;

however, the number of points possible may be evaluated in proportion to each respondent’s evaluation score received for Section 3: Scope Understanding, Approach, and Management

The College’s Evaluation Committee will evaluate and rank each submittal based on the criteria detailed above. The highest rated proposer(s) evaluated by the Committee may be invited to presentations / interview with the Evaluation Committee. If interviews occur, they will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Presentation / Interview Max Points Presentation 20 Interview 20 Total 40

If interviews are held, the final score for selection of a firm will be obtained by combining the Evaluation Committee’s total points of the qualifications, price, and interviews as follows:

Qualifications and Price 100 points maximum Interviews 40 points maximum Total 140 points maximum

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 6

PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

All proposal response requirements must be submitted through IonWave. The system does not allow a proposal submission unless all requirements have been met, including Attributes and Response Attachments. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:

Written Proposal:

Written Proposal shall be submitted as a Response Attachment in IonWave and shall include responses to Section 1 – 3. Written Proposals shall be a single PDF document with a maximum of twenty (20) pages (numbered 1-20). Sections must be in order and clearly labeled as outlined below.

Include a coversheet that includes your firm’s name, representative, and contact information.

Coversheet does not count towards the 20-page limit.

1. Qualifications and Experience of Firm

a. Include a description of the firm including firm’s history and size. Provide information regarding how long the proposer has provided the services requested in this RFP.

b. Describe previous experience with SJCCD or other public entities and/or colleges. Include how many public entities and/or college accounts are in your current client base. Did your company perform satisfactorily to the terms and conditions of the last award given to your company? Were there any discrepancies, issues or complaints reported concerning your organization’s performance?

c. Describe your organization related to other competitors who may be submitting proposals. How do you differ? What are your strengths? How do you perceive that your service philosophy differs from other organizations?

2. Qualifications and Experience of Personnel

a. Include a project-staffing plan and organizational chart for all proposed key staff members who will be assigned to this project. Identify their respective responsibilities for this project. If personnel substitutions are contemplated on a contingency basis, they should also be identified.

b. Provide brief resumes for key staff members outlining the qualifications and experience directly related to this RFP.

3. Scope Understanding, Approach, and Management

a. Describe how your services meet the scope listed in this RFP. Address any variances between your proposal and the scope.

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 7

b. Include details pertaining to your firm’s management approach and capabilities as are relevant to this proposal.

c. Describe your firm’s benefits packages, inclusive of health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, disability, retirement, and 401(k) to all out-of-state employees.

d. Explain the methodology and process used to onboard employees.

e. Explain the methodology and process used to offboard employees.

f. Describe how your firm tracks and administers expense reimbursements.

g. Provide a demo link to your firm’s online portal and dashboard for the College to access and review. Provide log-in information, if needed.

h. Regarding your firm’s online portal and dashboard, provide details regarding training session(s) for College staff. Is training synchronous or asynchronous? What is the length of time necessary for College staff to be proficiently trained?

i. Describe your firm’s policies and subsequent protocols regarding the assumption of full legal responsibility for employees, including the handling of employment-related lawsuits, management of employee(s) legal defense, and incurrence of any/all resulting settlements or judgments.

j. List any value-added services your company provides. If these services are not included in the price proposal, clearly indicate the respective fees for these additional services in the Response Attachment: Additional Costs Not Included in Pricing.

k. Upload a Sample Invoice in the Response Attachment’s tab in IonWave.

4. References

Include references in the Attributes tab in IonWave for the following:

a. The proposer shall provide at least five (5) references on recent projects for which the proposer's company is currently providing or has provided the same type and level of service required in this RFP within the past three years. Include the name, telephone number, and valid email address of a reference person who may be contacted for further information. It is highly preferable that these references are other colleges or public sector accounts comparable in size or larger.

b. All references will be contacted by email. Evaluations will be based on responses received from references. It is advisable to notify your references ahead of time that a reference will be requested by email.

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 8

5. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions

An exception includes any addition, deletion, or other modification. Submit exceptions to terms and conditions as an attachment in the Response Attachment tab in IonWave as follows:

a. If you select Yes to “EXCEPTIONS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS” under the Attributes tab, you must submit a written summary of each exception to this RFP, including the scope, specifications, and/or sample contract, as applicable. The summary shall include supporting justification that clearly identifies the specific reference, page, section, and sub-section of the change, relevance of the change, the vendor’s rationale for the change, and benefit to the College for accepting the change for the submitted exceptions to be considered in the evaluation.

b. The College’s evaluation of submitted exceptions will address the quantity of exceptions, type of exceptions, and justification(s) for exceptions. Fewer exceptions and/or exceptions with a lower risk to the College, if accepted, will equate to a higher score.

c. Any exceptions not explicitly stated may not be considered during contract negotiations, if any. The submittal of exceptions to terms and conditions does not guarantee the College’s acceptance of exceptions. The College reserves the right to accept or reject any exceptions as necessary to negotiate a mutually beneficial contract.

6. Price Proposal

Include pricing on the Line Items tab in IonWave for the following:

1. Fixed Monthly Fee - Per Employee

2. Benefits Administration Fee - Per Employee

Upload a Price Proposal Response Attachment providing a detailed breakdown of all fees associated with the services outlined in this RFP. Please address any applicable discounts, if available, with an explanation of when the discounts would be eligible. Any costs not explicitly stated in a proposal response shall not be charged to the College.

The College reserves the right to consider pricing submitted through Line Items, Line Notes, and Response Attachments. If there is a discrepancy among the Line Items, Line Notes, and Response Attachments, the Line Items pricing shall prevail.

RFP 25-19 Employer of Record 9

List of Response Attachments:

Include the following documents in the Response Attachments tab in IonWave.

All forms are available to download under the Attachments tab in IonWave. Except when listed as Optional, all Response Attachment documents are required and failure to provide a required document may deem the proposer non-responsive and disqualify the response from consideration for award.

1. Written Proposal

2. Sample Invoice

3. Price Proposal Attachment

4. Conflict of Interest Form

5. Proof of Insurance Requirements

6. Federal Vendor Certification Form

7. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions (optional)