RFI_3_LoS _Prof_Emp.pdf

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

MARKET RESEARCH

SSPARS – SOLICITATION NO: FA2517-15-R-8001

RFI No. 3 – Limitation on Subcontracting, Professional Employees

The following questions are for market research purposes only to assist the United States Air

Force (USAF) in development of the acquisition strategy for the new contract. This is not a request for proposal. Your responses will not be shared with anyone outside the USAF and all submissions will be treated as proprietary under 18 U.S.C. §1905 and protected accordingly.

1. Limitation on Subcontracting NOTICE TO SMALL BUSINESSES. Please carefully review the attached proposed rule from the Small Business Administration amending 13 CFR

125.6, “Limitations on Subcontracting.” The proposed rule generally makes two changes:

(1) “deems any work done by a similarly situated entity not to constitute ‘subcontracting’ for purposes of determining compliance with the applicable limitation on subcontracting,”

(2) “Allow[s] a joint venture to qualify as small for any government procurement as long as each partner to the joint venture qualifies individually as small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned in the solicitation.”

There is no information on when this proposed rule might become a final rule and be incorporated into the FAR. However, if incorporated into the FAR prior to 1 March 2016, would your company be interested in proposing on the SSPARS effort as either (1) a prime contractor with other similarly situated small businesses as subcontractors, or (2) with other small businesses as a joint venture?

As a reminder, the NAICS code for this effort is 517919 with a size standard of $32.5 million.

2. Professional Employee Compensation Plan. Per FAR 22.1102, a professional employee

“means any person meeting the definition of ‘employee employed in a bona fide…professional capacity’ given in 29 CFR 541. The term embraces members of those professions having a recognized status based upon acquiring professional knowledge through prolonged study.

Examples of these professions include accountancy, actuarial computation, architecture, dentistry, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and the sciences (such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and teaching). To be a professional employee, a person must not only be a professional but must be involved essentially in discharging professional duties.”

a. Contracting Officers must now assess the level of professional employees a potential offeror or contractor will propose on any reacquisition. Contracting Officers are estimating that if 20% of the employees will be classified as professionals on a proposal, then a Professional Employee Compensation Plan will be required to be submitted, and it will be evaluated as part of the reacquisition proposal.

b. Please provide an estimate if you anticipate any “professional employees” for the

SSPARS reacquisition on your proposal, and if so, how many employees expressed as a percentage of total employees proposed. The Contracting Officer will use the information you provide to help determine provisions and clauses that will be incorporated into the solicitation and contract.

3. Response. Please submit written responses via email to the Contracting Officers, Austin

Frindt, at austin.frindt@us.af.mil and Kristen Weaver at kristen.weaver.2@us.af.mil.

Responses are due no later than 2:00 PM MST Tuesday January 5 th

, 2016.

mailto:austin.frindt@us.af.mil mailto:kristen.weaver.2@us.af.mil