OASCR EEO Requirement.docx
DOCX document 51 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 12314426Q0292
- Issued by
-
Department of Agriculture
About this file
Summary
This is a Statement of Work (SOW) for Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Counseling, Complaint Acceptance/Dismissal, and Final Agency Decisions (FAD) Support Services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. The contractor shall deliver three primary services: (1) EEO counseling including live interviews, issue identification, limited inquiries, and preparation of Counselor's Reports with a Notice of Right to File issued within 29 calendar days and the Counselor's Report delivered within 10 days thereafter; (2) Complaint acceptance/dismissal determinations with acceptance and dismissal letters drafted within 10 calendar days of assignment; and (3) Final Agency Decisions with complete legal analysis drafted within 14 calendar days of assignment. All work products must comply with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 and EEOC Management Directive 110, meet attorney-level legal drafting standards, and be fully Section 508 compliant. Revision deadlines are three business days for standard rework and five business days for material deficiency rework.
The contractor must maintain Assurance Quality Levels requiring 100% compliance with initial and revision deadlines, with 95% of initial drafts requiring no substantive revision and 98% accuracy in issue alignment and defect-free work. Key personnel must include a Program Manager experienced in managing legal-writing teams in EEO matters and FAD Writers possessing high-caliber attorney-level legal writing expertise and deep proficiency in federal-sector EEO law. The contract includes a 12-month base year with option years, with monthly reports due on the 5th and biweekly reports due every other Monday. All work products become Government property, and the contractor must safeguard Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and sensitive but unclassified information while complying with federal incident reporting protocols and required security/privacy training.
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Statement of Work
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Counseling, Complaint Acceptance/Dismissal, and Final Agency Decisions (FAD) Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Conflict Complaints Division and Center for Civil Rights Enforcement (Note for Contracting Office: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services intentionally excluded)
1. Background and Purpose
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires contractor support to deliver timely, impartial, high‑quality EEO complaint processing services, including EEO counseling (non‑ADR), complaint acceptance/dismissal determinations, and FAD writing. Contractor deliverables must comply with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Management Directive 110 (MD‑110) and must meet professional legal drafting standards comparable to those required of attorneys practicing in high‑quality legal settings.
2. Objectives
| • | Deliver timely, impartial, legally sound complaint processing. |
| • | Produce written work products that meet required legal, factual, and analytical |
| standards. | |
| • | Ensure Section 508 compliance for all electronic deliverables. |
| • | Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and security of all Personally Identifiable |
| Information (PII) and sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information. | |
| • | Operate under measurable performance standards with clear Assurance Quality Levels, |
| surveillance, incentives, and disincentives. |
3. Scope of Work
3.1 EEO Counseling (Non‑ADR)
The contractor shall:
| • | Conduct inclusive, issue‑specific live interviews (telephone or virtual); email alone is |
| not sufficient and may be used only for limited follow-up. | |
| • | Identify issues and bases and conduct a limited inquiry in accordance with the requirements of 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 and EEOC Management Directive 110 (MD‑110). |
| • | Attempt informal resolution (non‑ADR) in accordance with (29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.102(b)(2) and 1614.105(f), plus MD‑110 Chapter 3):. |
| • | Prepare the Counselor’s Report in accordance with the MD-110 and consistent with USDA template. |
Initial Deadlines
| • | Notice of Right to File (NRF) (Traditional): Issued no later than the 29th calendar day from the complainants initial contact with an EEO office or official unless an ADR extension applies. |
| • | Counselor’s Report: Provide the complainant within 10 calendar days after NRF issuance. |
Revision Deadlines
| • | Standard rework: Three (3) business days. |
| • | Material‑deficiency rework: Five(5) business days. |
3.2 Complaint Acceptance/Dismissal
The contractor shall:
| • | Review the complaint and counseling file. |
| • | Identify accepted issues or dismissal bases (§1614.107). |
| • | Draft Acceptance Letters, Dismissal Letters, and Partial Acceptance/Partial Dismissal Letters |
Initial Deadline
• Draft due within 10 calendar days of assignment.
Revision Deadlines
| • | Standard rework: 3 business days. |
| • | Material‑deficiency rework: 5 business days. |
3.3 Final Agency Decisions (FADs)
The contractor shall:
| • | Review the entire investigative file. |
| • | Draft complete FAD, including Issues Presented, Procedural History, Statement of |
| Facts, Applicable Law, Analysis, Conclusion, Appeal Rights, and Certificate of | |
| Service. Use provided agency templates and samples to ensure alignment. | |
| • | Produce analysis that is fully rigorous, demonstrating precise application of governing |
| legal standards, supported by specific, verified facts from the record, and drafted in a | |
| manner that ensures the decision is legally defensible under all applicable statutes, | |
| regulations, and EEOC precedent. | |
| • | Rely exclusively on legal authorities that are current, directly applicable to the issues |
under review and tailored to the specific statutory and regulatory framework governing federal-sector EEO complaint adjudication.
Initial Deadline
• Draft FAD due within 14 calendar days of assignment.
Revision Deadlines
| • | Standard rework: 3 calendar days. |
| • | Material‑deficiency rework: 5 calendar days. |
4. Deliverables Summary
| Deliverable |
| Initial Deadline |
| Revision Deadline |
| Reference |
| NRF |
| Day 29 |
| 3 days / 5 days |
| SOW, Section 3.1 |
| Counselor’s Report |
| 10 days after NRF |
| 3 days / 5 days |
| SOW, Section 3.1 |
| Acceptance Letter |
| 10 days |
| 3 days / 5 days |
| SOW, Section 3.2 |
| FAD |
| 14 days |
| 3 days / 5 days |
| SOW, Section 3.3 |
| Monthly Report |
| 5th each month |
| N/A |
| SOW, Section 15 |
| Biweekly Report |
| Every other Monday |
| N/A |
| SOW, Section 15 |
5. Legal Quality Standards
Work must meet professional legal drafting standards comparable to attorney‑level practice.
Accepted Issues
Accepted issues must be accurately reflected. Contractors may refine accepted‑claim language only when necessary for clarity or accuracy and must include a footnote explaining the clarification so that the reader understands what was adjusted.
Analysis
| • | Legal standards must be up-to-date, correct, complete, and aligned with applicable statutes, regulations, and EEOC precedent. |
| • | Analysis must clearly apply specific facts to each legal element. |
| • | No conclusory statements; all findings must be supported by record evidence. |
| • | Case law must be up-to-date, relevant and used sparingly to clarify standards. |
| • | Statutes and regulations must be accurately cited and applied. |
| • | Credibility determinations must be clearly explained and grounded in objective factors such as consistency, plausibility, corroboration, motive, and demeanor, and must rely only on evidence in the record rather than assumptions. When assessing demeanor, the contractor should evaluate observable, testimony‑related behaviors such as responsiveness, clarity, hesitation, signs of rehearsal, evasiveness, or non‑responsiveness. Demeanor may not be used as a stand‑alone basis for an adverse credibility finding; demeanor observations must be tied to specific statements, supported by the record, and accompanied by an explanation of how the observed behavior affects the witness’s reliability, motive, demeanor), and |
| supported by evidence—not assumptions. | |
| • | Analysis must follow proper burden‑shifting (prima facie, legitimate reason, pretext), |
| when applicable. | |
| • | All material, relevant, and conflicting evidence must be weighed and addressed. |
| • | Findings must expressly assess whether conduct is linked to a protected basis. |
| • | Conclusions must apply the preponderance of the evidence standard and clearly |
| articulate why the evidence meets—or does not meet—that threshold. | |
| • | Use consistent, defensible reasoning in line with EEOC MD‑110 and EEOC decisions. |
Facts
| • | Facts must be complete, accurate, neutral, and consistent with the Report of |
| Investigation. | |
| • | No misstatements, omissions of material facts, or contradictions. |
| • | No witness‑by‑witness recitations unless necessary; synthesize facts for clarity. |
| • | Every fact included must support the upcoming analysis and be necessary for |
| applying the relevant legal standards. |
Writing & Organization
| • | Required structure: Issues → Procedural History → Statement of Facts → Applicable |
| Law → Analysis → Conclusion → Appeal Rights → Certificate of Service. | |
| • | Clear, professional grammar and formatting. |
| • | Citations in Bluebook format; pinpoint citations IN Fact Section and where necessary. |
6. Government Feedback and Revision Requirements
Feedback Provision
The Government may issue feedback on deliverables. Feedback may be substantive or minor editorial. The absence of feedback does not signify approval, acceptance, or compliance with required standards.
Mandatory Revision Requirement
The contractor must incorporate all Government feedback—minor or substantive—into revised drafts.
Revision Deadlines
• Standard rework: 3 business days.
• Material deficiencies: 5 business days.
7. Material Deficiency Definition
A deliverable contains a material deficiency if any of the following conditions exist:
1. Legal standards are incorrect, incomplete, or improperly stated.
2. Failure to correctly apply the law to the established facts, resulting in conclusory, unsupported, or legally incomplete analysis, constitutes a material deficiency.
3. Essential facts are missing, inaccurate, or contradictory.
4. Accepted issues are materially mischaracterized or improperly reframed beyond permissible clarification.
– Refinements are allowed only with a reader‑clarifying footnote.
5. Citations missing where legally necessary or inaccurate in a way that affects clarity or correctness.
– Bluebook formatting errors alone are not material unless they impair clarity.
6. Structural/organizational defects that disrupt readability or the required sequence.
7. Any defect or combination of defects makes the draft unfit for executive review, meaning it cannot be evaluated without significant revision.
8. Failure to conduct and clearly explain credibility determinations using objective factors such as consistency, plausibility, corroboration, motive, and demeanor constitutes a material deficiency.
8. Assurance Quality Levels
Timeliness
| • | 100% compliance with initial deadlines. |
| • | 100% compliance with revision deadlines. |
Quality
| • | 95% of initial drafts require no substantive revision. |
| • | 98% accurate alignment with accepted issues (allowing footnoted clarifications). |
| • | 98% defect‑free (facts, law, citations, formatting, grammar). |
Feedback Incorporation
| • | 95% of first revisions must fully incorporate all Government feedback. |
| • | 100% of second revisions must incorporate all feedback. |
9. Incentives, Disincentives & Remedies
| • | Graduated fee reductions for late or deficient deliverables. |
| • | Repeated failures may result in suspension of assignments, Contractor Performance |
| Assessment Report impacts, cure notices, or termination for default. |
10. Data Rights
All work products, drafts, and supporting materials become Government property.
11. Section 508 Compliance
All deliverables must be fully Section 508 compliant, including searchable PDFs, bookmarks, continuous pagination, and sanitized/unsanitized versions.
12. Confidentiality, Privacy, Security
Contractor shall safeguard PII/SBU, comply with federal incident reporting protocols, and ensure all personnel complete required security/privacy training.
13. Period of Performance
Base year of 12 months with option years.
14. Key Personnel Requirements
• Program Manager: Experience managing legal-writing teams in EEO.
• FAD Writers must possess high‑caliber, attorney‑level legal writing expertise and deep proficiency in federal-sector EEO law, capable of producing work products that meet the rigorous analytical, factual, and drafting standards expected of attorneys in top-tier law firms
• Annual training on relevant civil rights statutes required for all who perform EEO Counseling
15. Reporting
| • | Monthly Report due on the 5th. |
| • | Biweekly Report due every other Monday. |
16. Invoicing
Submitted through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) with required documentation.
17. NonPersonal Services
Contractor personnel shall not act as federal employees or perform inherently governmental duties.
18. Conflict of Interest
Contractor must report and mitigate conflicts immediately.
19. Transition Requirements
Contractor shall support orderly transition of work at the conclusion of the performance period.
20. Governing Legal Authorities
Contractor shall comply with:
| • | Title VII |
| • | Rehabilitation Act §501 |
| • | Americans Disability Act Title I |
| • | Age Discrimination Employment Act |
| • | Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Title II |
| • | Pregnancy Discrimination Act |
| • | Civil Rights Act of 1991 |
| • | 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 |
| • | EEOC MD‑110 |
| • | 5 C.F.R. 300.102(c), 300.103(c) |
| • | 5 C.F.R. Part 1201 Subpart E |
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