FA5641-15-R-0007_Response_to_Industry_Questions.docx

Solicitation FA5641-15-R-0007, ATLAS II Government Responses to Industry Questions

Question: Please confirm that the United Kingdom’s Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations mandate that the successor contractor (“transferee”) honor all terms and conditions of employment of individuals employed by the incumbent contractor (“transferor”) immediately before transfer, including, but not limited to:

· Salary/rates if pay

· Working hours

· Holiday entitlement

· Medical/health insurance

· Overseas incentive

· Completion Bonus

· Cost of Living Allowance on spendable income

· Tuition for Local or Dept. of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS)

· UK Employee Tax Differential Payment

· Council Tax

· Dislocation Allowance

· Paid home leaves for employee and dependent(s) to CONUS “home-of-record” every 12 or 18 months (depending on employee) Solicitation Reference: Section L, paragraph L-1.D.1.d.iii Government Response: The United States Government cannot provide direction regarding what is mandated by United Kingdom labor laws. As outlined in Section L, paragraph L-1.D.1.d.iii, “United Kingdom Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment may apply to any contract awarded as a result of this solicitation. Offerors are advised to review applicable parts thereof.” See also DFARS 252.222-7002, Compliance with Local Labor Laws (Overseas).

Question: Negotiation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the U.S. Government (USG) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) Government has not yet been concluded, and it is anticipated that negotiations will be continuing for some time into the future. If the SOFA negotiations have not been concluded, the FRG cannot/will not approve the awarded contract until the SOFA has been finalized. If the contract is not approved by the FRG, will not consider TESA applications for any potential employees of the awardee who are U.S. citizens.

AFFARS 5352.242-9000 specifies in two sections that:

“(e) The contract price shall not be subject to an economic price adjustment with regard to TESA/TCSA/ASSA in the event that:

1. The contract and any or all positions identified in the Contractor’s proposal are disapproved for TESA/TCSA/ASSA; …” What assumption should the offerors make when pricing the proposal in order to address the potential situation that the SOFA will not be negotiated by contract award?

Solicitation Reference: Section I, AFFARS 5352.242-9000 Government Response: Solicitation Section L, paragraph L-1.D.1.d.i states, “There are approved Technical Expert (TE) positions on the current contract; however, this does not guarantee North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) approval for employees working under the contract resulting from this solicitation. Further information regarding the Department of Defense Contractor Personnel Office (DOCPER) can be found on the DOCPER website at: http://www.eur.army.mil/g1/content/CPD/docper.html.”

Of note, the DOCPER website provides current status and information (e.g., Topics of Interest, Status Accreditation Overview - Germany) on the differences between TE positions under Article 73 and Analytical Support positions under Article 72 of the German Supplementary Agreement to the NATO SOFA.

Regardless, the Government cannot provide direction regarding which assumptions, if any, offerors make in their proposals. Proposals shall comply with all solicitation instructions, terms and conditions. Section L, paragraph L-1.D.1.d states, “Costs associated with host nation labor laws shall not be submitted as a conditional proposal. If submitted as such, the offeror’s proposal will not be in compliance with the terms and conditions of this solicitation and may result in the offeror being ineligible for award.”

Question: The solicitation states that a price analysis will be conducted to determine the price reasonableness of offerors during the source selection process. Would the government consider also including Price Realism as part of the evaluation criteria?

Solicitation Reference: Section M, paragraph M-2.B.1 Government Response: The Government will conduct price analysis as stated in the solicitation.