Unemployment_Claims_Management,_Costing_and_Representation_(Addendum_#2_Revision).pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2025-RFP-251

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS MANAGEMENT, COSTING AND

REPRESENTATION

City of Pittsburgh

City-County Building

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

RELEASE DATE: October 7, 2025

DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: October 28, 2025

RESPONSE DEADLINE: November 10, 2025, 2:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

Request for Proposal #2025-RFP-251 Title: Unemployment Claims Management, Costing and Representation https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/pittsburghpa https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7bproject.government.code%7d

City of Pittsburgh

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Unemployment Claims Management, Costing and Representation

I. Introduction II. Instructions to Bidders

III. Scope of Work IV. Proposal Format Requirements V. Evaluation Phases

VI. Equal Opportunity Review Commission Terms VII. Award and Contract

VIII. General Terms & Conditions IX. Miscellaneous Requirements X. Vendor Questionnaire

1. Introduction

1.1. Summary

The City of Pittsburgh Office of Management and Budget, on behalf of the department of Human

Resources and Civil Service, is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors for Unemployment Claims

Management services.

1.2. Background

Work directly with the PA Unemployment Compensation office located in Pittsburgh, PA to manage claims associated with current and former City of Pittsburgh employees. This should include review of all submitted information, required communications, provision of counsel as needed, and assistance with scheduling hearings and prepping witnesses. Reporting to the City HR staff for purposes of unemployment cost management in various formats on a timely basis is required. Training of City department personnel in UE Comp processes and changes in legislation.

The City of Pittsburgh by its nature of work has seasonal employees that look to receive UE Comp during the off-season which becomes costly to the City if not managed properly. The City is also working to focus on reducing turnover in high-turnover departments so reporting is essential. The City of Pittsburgh

Benefits Team is not staffed to be able to appropriately handle full claims administration as a function and needs organizational support and effective documentation prep to complete UE compensation claims queries by required deadlines.

1.3. Contact Information

Jacob Goldmann

Sourcing Specialist

414 Grant Street

Room 502

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Email: jacob.goldmann@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412) 255-2422

Department:

Human Resources & Civil Service

1.4. Timeline

The following represents the tentative schedule for this project. Any change in the scheduled dates for the Pre Proposal Conference (if applicable), Deadline for Submission of Written Questions, or Proposal

Submission Deadline will be advertised in the form of an addendum to this RFP. The schedule for the evaluation process and other future dates may be adjusted without notice.

RFP Released October 7, 2025 mailto:jacob.goldmann@pittsburghpa.gov tel:(412)255-2422

Question Submission Deadline October 28, 2025, 5:00pm

Proposal Submission Deadline November 10, 2025, 2:00pm

Proposal Review and Supplier Scoring November 2025

Contract Award November 2025

2. Instructions to Bidders

2.1. Submittal Requirements

All proposals must be submitted electronically. No proposal shall be accepted in person, by U.S. Mail, by private courier service, via oral or email communication, telephone or fax transmission.

Respondents are required to provide one (1) electronic copy of their proposal in either MS Word or PDF by the submission deadline.

If additional hard copies are requested, the proposal should be bound or contained in a loose leaf binder. Document pages shall be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size or folded to such a size. Use section dividers, tabbed in accordance with this Section as specified below. All proposals will need to be provided electronically so the following format will apply for the electronic submittal through the

Beacon website.

2.2. Additional Submission Considerations

Late proposals will not be accepted or considered. Respondents should allow enough time to register company on the City's e-Procurement Portal, search the solicitation they wish to respond to and complete the submission process online before the deadline.

The City of Pittsburgh shall not be responsible for proposals delivered to a person or location other than that specified herein.

All submittals, whether selected or rejected, shall become the property of the City of Pittsburgh and will not be returned.

All costs associated with proposal preparation shall be borne by the applicant.

3. Scope of Work

3.1. Claims Management Requirements

A. Contractor will collect and store ongoing electronic employee separation data to respond to unemployment claims.

B. Contractor will provide dedicated Claims Representation in the initial claims process and work with City staff to ensure timely unemployment claims management and responses.

C. Contractor will provide analysis, expert advice, guidance on determinations and appeal rights, and file appeals, if needed (at no additional charge).

Details: The Contractor will be appointed by the City to act as the City's agent and Attorney in Fact in unemployment claim related matters. Contractor will process all initial claims, review benefit decisions, appeals, hearing preparation and representation, written arguments and briefs. Contractor will also secure pertinent information and, where appropriate, process, in a timely manner, the information and file a detailed protest of the payment and/or charging of benefits.

The City will periodically create a new database file ("Update File"). This Update File will be transmitted to Contractor using a mutually agreed electronic file transfer protocol. This file will contain the required fields of information as specified by the Contractor and agreed to by the City on all the City's employee records. The Contractor will replace the old database with the new database and update the pay history information following receipt of the updated database from the City. The City's support will be available

Monday through Friday during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. local eastern time) and available via voice message after normal business hours.

3.2. Hearing Representation Requirements

A. Contractor will provide a dedicated Hearing Representative to assist with case analysis, witness preparation, and document review in preparation for a hearing.

B. Contractor will provide representation during hearings. The Hearing Representative will guide the City's designated representatives through the hearing to ensure a favorable outcome (at no additional charge).

Details: All Contractor's hearing representatives will be supervised by a licensed attorney (State of PA).

Contractor will assist with case analysis, witness preparation, and document review in preparation for a hearing. Contractor will manage the appeal process including stating appropriate arguments and filing appropriate paperwork. Contractor will attend all unemployment hearings on behalf of the City, with appropriate City personnel in attendance as needed. Contractor shall prepare City staff for the hearing in a pre-hearing conference; advise City staff regarding hearing procedures; review all elements of the case; and examine documentation and review those elements to secure a favorable decision. Contractor will prepare all written arguments to appeal a hearing officer's decision. Where a determination is made that a decision is contrary to the facts presented, Contractor will appeal such decision in a timely manner on the City's behalf. Contractor will research precedent decisions, and a written or oral argument will be presented to the appropriate review board.

3.3. Benefit Charge Audit Requirements

A. Carefully review charges pursuant to Pennsylvania unemployment requirements.

B. Audit and identify erroneous charges.

C. Protest and resolve any identified erroneous charges.

Details: Contractor will ensure that benefit charges are made only to current or former employees entitled to such benefits. Contractor will verify corresponding credits to the City's state accounts. As necessary, Contractor will appeal any unfavorable charge statement rulings. Contractor will conduct regular reviews of the City's unemployment reports, including review of wage reports, payments, and verification of billing; and Contractor will file adjustment reports as required. Contractor will actively pursue protests and any refunds or credits due as a result of such protests.

3.4. Reporting Requirements

A. Provide the City with access to clear and accurate reporting of detailed activity of claims, appeals, decisions, and charges.

B. Provide access to real time data for the purposes of audits and process improvements.

Details: Contractor will provide immediate notification of the disposition of each claim. Contractor will ensure designated City staff are updated weekly or as agreed on the status of each claim. Contractor will transmit all favorable and/or unfavorable determinations to the City through an individual claim report and, with final decisions that are unfavorable, provide any feedback to avoid future unfavorable determinations. Contractor will provide claims activity and summary reports by City cost center. Each report will include a complete, detailed listing of unemployment claims activity for the City.

Each report will contain a summary listed by; "type of separation" and by protested charges/credits.

3.5. Legislative Updates

Contractor will provide the City with legislative updates and/or updates that pertain to unemployment.

3.6. Training Requirements

A. Provide in-person or webinar training to the City upon request.

B. Provide training to HR Benefits Staff for onboarding to system, if new.

C. Provide training on unemployment changes and news updates regarding federal and state tax changes.

D. Provide training to HR Benefits Staff on PA UE Comp Law and hearing preparation

Details: Contractor will provide training to City staff. Contractor will use claim data to improve outcomes and reduce liabilities and training curriculums will be based on Contractor's observations. City may also request training on specific subjects related to unemployment cost management. Contractor will provide the training in a format that is most convenient and impactful for the City. Contractor will have the ability to provide training in either a webinar or in-person format. Training will be scheduled at times and locations convenient for the City. A minimum of two (2) training seminars per year are required.

Four (4) seminars per year are recommended to be included in the fee for services.

3.7. Customer Service Requirements

Contractor will provide a "Dedicated Claim Specialist" who will maintain a work schedule of Monday through Friday, with hours that align with the City’s needs. All messages received during regular business hours must be responded to within 30 minutes. All messages received during non-business hours must be responded to within 4 hours of the opening of the next business day. The Dedicated

Claim Specialist must return all phone calls within 4 hours, the day on which they receive the message.

The Dedicated Claim Specialist must have extensive work experience with reimbursors as well as claim activity in the State of Pennsylvania; and, the Dedicated Claim Specialist will have a workload that will allow them to provide effective and prompt responses to all required tasks. If the workload for a

Dedicated Claim Specialist is too much, vendors shall provide more than one Dedicated Claim Specialist.

3.8. Data Backup Requirements

The Contractor shall provide an annual Disaster Recovery Action Plan that outlines that year's disaster recovery implementation schedule, and the most recent Disaster Recovery Action Plan should be available to the City upon request. City may appoint a representative(s) that shall have access to the

Contractor's disaster recovery status update meetings. Disaster recovery will be performed on a best-efforts basis and the Contractor will provide communication available to the City as to the status of the recovery process.

3.9. Data Security Requirements

A. Contractor to provide secure, encrypted, web-based authentication and access using SAML authentication.

B. Solution to include SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) at minimum 256-bit encryption for data transmission.

C. Contractor to provide a formal security incident response process as part of this process which includes responding to security incidents and notifying customers proactively during the incidents (i.e. quantify using SLA’s, timeframes, and root cause analysis).

D. Contractor to notify the city upon security vulnerability alerts within 8-hours of discovery. Contractor to provide support and remediate the vulnerabilities within (1) business day.

3.10. Term of Contract

This contract shall be a four (4) year contract term.

3.11. Technology Requirements/Interfacing

A. Contractor must provide information outlining technology interfacing capability within the response to scope document.

B. Contractor may be asked to provide a demonstration to the City to ensure technology requirements and interfacing capability are sufficient.

3.12. Reporting

A. Contractor must describe the standard reporting for their proposed system/solution within the response to scope document.

4. Proposal Format Requirements

4.1. Response Format

All submitted responses shall follow the formatting below, and all proposals will need to be provided electronically through the City's e-Procurement Portal. Each numbered section is to be uploaded as a separate file. If hard copies of submissions are required, each numbered section shall be a removable tab. Document pages shall be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size or folded to such a size.

Response to Scope

Firm’s Qualifications, Experience and References

Describe the firm and provide a statement of the firm’s qualifications for providing the scope of services.

Identify the services which would be completed by your firm’s staff and those that would be provided by sub-consultants, if any. Identify any sub-consultants you proposed to utilize to supplement your firm’s staff.

Provide a summary of the firm’s experience in providing these or similar services. Provide a minimum of three references for related projects, including dates, contact person, phone number, email, and a brief description of the project or scope of work.

Qualifications of Project Team

Provide a brief summary of the qualifications and experience of each team member assigned to this project, including length of service with the firm and resume/bio, and the qualifications /experience of any sub-consultant staff on your project team.

Project Approach and Plan

Provide a detailed discussion of your firm’s approach to the successful completion of the scope of services outlined in this RFP. Include thorough discussions of methodologies you believe are essential to accomplishing this project or completing the scope of services. Include a proposed work schedule to accomplish all of the required tasks within the desired timeline. Identify the staff roles who would be assigned to each major task, including sub-consultants.

Cost Proposal

Provide a total cost proposal for all services to be delivered, and a breakdown of costs delineated by major phase and/or deliverable as described in your project plan. Include a schedule of hourly rates for all proposed staff and the amount of time each person will be devoted to this project. Define any reimbursable expenses (e.g., travel) requested to be paid by the City. Note: If travel expenses are included, the rate assumptions generally should not exceed the United States General Services

Administration (GSA) rates for Pittsburgh.

PLEASE NOTE: The City does not agree to late fees, penalties, interest, attorney’s fees or other contingent liability. In no event shall the City be liable for special, indirect, incidental, reliance, lost profits or other business interest damages.

Demonstration of Good Faith Effort

Include statements of assurance regarding the following requirements detailed in the Equal Opportunity section of this solicitation:

A. Solicit certified MBE/WBE/Veteran-Owned companies for various service categories where opportunities exist to subcontract within their company’s business model.

B. Complete MWDBEVOSB Commitment Form to document good faith effort. Please provide scope of services to be delivered by each subcontractor. If a subcontractor is not chosen, a justification is required describing why services could not be rendered by a sub-contractor.

C. Provide email documentation of solicitation correspondence with MBE/WBE/Veteran-Owned companies.

Failure to include all of the elements specified may be cause for rejection. Additional information may be provided, but should be succinct and relevant to the goals of this RFP. Excessive information will not be considered favorably.

5. Evaluation Phases

Selection Procedure

Your Proposal will be evaluated by a Proposal Committee comprised of the Director or other supervisor of the Using Department, one or more members of the Director’s staff, at least one member of the

Office of Management & Budget and any other department representatives as deemed necessary.

Submittals will be reviewed for responsiveness, and responsive submittals will further be screened by a selection committee in accordance with the criteria listed below. The firm(s) submitting the highest rated proposal may be invited for interviews.

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Firm’s Qualifications, Experience and

References

Vendor response demonstrated that the firm has the experience and capabilities to successfully perform the scope of services, including providing references for clients of similar size and scope.

Points Based 15 (15% of Total)

2. Qualifications of Project Team

Vendor response provided a brief summary of the qualifications and experience of each team member assigned to this project, including length of service with the firm and resume/bio, and the qualifications /experience of any sub-consultant staff on your project team.

Points Based 15 (15% of Total)

3. Project Approach and Plan

Vendor response demonstrated a firm understanding of the scope of services, the response included thorough and complete responses to the items outlined in the Section

4, and the vendor has the appropriate expertise, procedures, and methods in place to perform the scope of services.

Points Based 30 (30% of Total)

4. Cost Proposal

Vendor response provided a total cost proposal for all services to be delivered, a breakdown of costs delineated by major phase and/or a schedule of hourly rates.

Reward Low Cost 30 (30% of Total)

5. MWDBE/VOSB Good Faith Effort

Vendor response was detailed and demonstrated clear Good Faith Effort to obtain

MWDBE & VOSB Participation.

Points Based 10 (10% of Total)

6. Equal Opportunity Review Commission Terms

6.1. MWE/DBE

The City of Pittsburgh is committed to the ideal of providing all citizens an equal opportunity to participate in City and its Authorities' contracting opportunities. It is therefore the City's goal to encourage increased participation of women and minority groups in all City contracts. The City requires that all respondents demonstrate good faith efforts to obtain the participation of Minority-Owned

Business Enterprises (MBE's) and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE's) in work to be performed under City contracts. The levels of MBE and WBE participation will be monitored by the City of

Pittsburghs Equal Opportunity Review Commission (EORC). In order to ensure that there are opportunities for historically disadvantaged minority groups and women to participate on Covered

Contracts, and consistent with the City's current equal employment opportunity practice and goals, the

EORC will review contracts to include an evaluation of a developer/contractors employment of minority groups and women, encourage goals of eighteen (18) percent and seven (7) percent respectively.

6.2. Veteran-Owned and LGBTQIA+ Small Business Goals

It is also the City's goal to encourage participation by veteran-owned and LGBTQIA+ small businesses in all contracts. The City of Pittsburgh shall have an annual goal of not less than five (5) percent participation by veteran-owned small businesses and not less than three (3) percent participation by

LGBTQIA+ businesses in all contracts. The participation goal shall apply to the overall dollar amount expended with respect to the contracts. The City requires that all respondents demonstrate good faith efforts to obtain the participation of veteran-owned small business in work to be performed under City contracts. The levels of participation will be monitored by the City of Pittsburgh’s EORC.

6.3. Good Faith Commitment

In order to demonstrate good faith commitment to these goals, all respondents are required to complete and submit with their bids the attached MWDBE/Veteran-Owned/LGBTQIA+ Solicitation and

Commitment Form (which details the efforts made by the respondents to obtain such participation).

Failure to submit a properly completed form along with documentation of Good Faith Commitment may result in rejection of the bid. Participants are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity Review

Commission at 412-255-8804 to assist further. For further information, including definitions and additional requirements, please see Chapter 177A (Sections 177A.01 et. seq.) of the City Code and

Section 161.40 of the City Code.

7. Award and Contract

7.1. Award

After the City has received all Proposals and conducted its initial Evaluation, described above, the

Proposal Committee may invite one or more Respondents to a follow-up interview to further discuss their Proposal(s).

The Proposal Committee may decide to accept the Proposal of one or more Respondents. It may decide to reject all proposals. Once a Proposal is accepted, the contract negotiation process will commence.

This RFP and your response to it, in the form of your entire Proposal, will become part of the Contract. If a real or apparent conflict should arise between this RFP/Proposal and other language contained in the final Contract, the language of the final Contract shall control.

7.2. Contracting Process

Successful Respondents will be required to enter into a Contract with the City of Pittsburgh, contingent upon the approval of City Council. This Contract will be directed and managed by the issuing department and the Office of Management & Budget.

Work cannot commence on the Scope of the RFP until it a contract is fully executed. The City cannot process invoices nor approve payments until this Contract has been fully executed by the Respondent and all required City signatories, including the issuing department, the Law Department, and the City

Controller.

City laws and policies mandate the incorporation of various custom terms and conditions into all City contracts. For this reason the City will not sign any standard contract proffered by the respondent.

An agreement shall not be binding or valid with the City unless and until it is fully executed by authorized representatives of the City and of the Proposer. Once the Contract is fully executed the City will notify Respondent in writing and give the order to proceed.

8. General Terms & Conditions

8.1. Examination of Proposal Documents

A. The submission of a proposal shall be deemed a representation and certification by the

Respondent that they:

1. Have carefully read and fully understand the information that was provided by the City to serve as the basis for submission of the proposal.

2. Have the capability to successfully undertake and complete the responsibilities and obligations of the proposal being submitted.

3. Represent that all information contained in the proposal is true and correct.

4. Did not, in any way, collude; conspire to agree, directly or indirectly, with any person, firm, corporation or other proposer in regard to the amount, terms or conditions of this proposal.

5. Acknowledge that the City has the right to make any inquiry it deems appropriate to substantiate or supplement information supplied by a proposer, and proposer hereby grants the City permission to make these inquiries, and to provide any and all related documentation in a timely manner.

B. No request for modification of the proposal shall be considered after its submission on the grounds that the proposer was not fully informed to any fact or condition.

8.2. RFP Term

Respondent’s proposal shall remain firm and effective, subject to the City’s review and approval, for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the closing date for the receipt of proposals.

The City may enter into negotiations with one or more Respondents during the one hundred twenty

(120) day period during which all proposals will stay effective. The purpose of such negotiations will be to address questions and identify issues as the parties move towards the execution of a final contract or contracts.

8.3. RFP Communications

Unauthorized contact regarding this RFP with employees or officials of the City of Pittsburgh other than the RFP Coordinator named in the header section of this solicitation may result in disqualification from this procurement process.

Neither Respondent(s) nor any person acting on Respondent(s)’s behalf shall attempt to influence the outcome of the award by the offer, presentation or promise of gratuities, favors, or anything of value to any appointed or elected official or employee of the City of Pittsburgh, their families or staff members.

All inquiries regarding the solicitation are to be directed to the designated RFP Coordinator. Outside of pertinent RFP questions directed to the City of Pittsburgh as specified above, any other attempts to contact any City of Pittsburgh personnel regarding this RFP, without prior approval by the RFP

Coordinator will be considered grounds for dismissal and immediate disqualification from the RFP process. This includes, but is not limited to, all verbal, voice, text, e-mail, and social media (e.g. –

LinkedIn) contact.

Please note the following:

A. The City shall not be responsible for nor bound by any oral instructions, interpretations or explanations issued by the City or its representatives.

B. Each proposer shall assume the risk of the method of dispatching any communication or proposal. •The RFP Coordinator must receive all written comments, including questions and requests for clarification, no later than the Deadline for Submission Questions listed in the tentative project schedule.

C. The City reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, the appropriate and adequate responses to written comments, questions, and requests for clarification. The City’s official responses and other official communications pursuant to this RFP shall constitute an addendum of this RFP.

D. The City will publish all official responses and communications pursuant to this RFP to the City of

Pittsburgh procurement website. It is the responsibility of each proposer to check the site and incorporate all addenda into their response.

E. All addenda for this RFP will be distributed via the City of Pittsburgh procurement website at procurement.pittsburghpa.gov/beacon/opportunities

F. Only the City’s official, written responses and communications shall be considered binding with regard to this RFP.

8.4. Addenda/Clarifications

Should discrepancies or omissions be found in this RFP or should there be a need to clarify this RFP, questions or comments regarding this RFP must be put in writing and received by the RFP Coordinator within the Question and Answer tab.

8.5. Withdrawal of Proposals

A proposer may withdraw its proposal at any time before the expiration of the time for submission of proposals as provided in this RFP by delivering a written request for withdrawal signed by, or on behalf of, the proposer.

8.6. Public Record

Respondent, by submittal of a proposal, acknowledges that all proposals may be considered public information in accordance with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Right to Know laws. Subject to award of this RFP, all or part of any submittal may be released to any person or firm who may request it.

Therefore, proposers shall specify in their proposal response if any portion of their submittal should be treated as proprietary and not releasable as public information. Proposers should be aware that all such requests may be subject to legal review and challenge.

Any information considered proprietary should be indicated as such or not included in the response.

8.7. Non-Conforming Proposal

A proposal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions of these RFP instructions and specifications. Any alteration, omission, addition, variance, or limitation of, from or to a proposal may be sufficient grounds for non-acceptance of the proposal, at the sole discretion of the City.

8.8. Disqualification

Factors such as, but not limited to, any of the following may be considered just cause to disqualify a proposal without further consideration:

A. Evidence of collusion, directly or indirectly, among proposers in regard to the amount, terms or conditions of this proposal;

B. Any attempt to improperly influence any member of the evaluation team;

C. Existence of any lawsuit, unresolved contractual claim, or dispute between the proposer and the

City;

D. Evidence of incorrect information submitted as part of the proposal;

E. Evidence of proposer’s inability to successfully complete the responsibilities and obligation of the proposal; and

F. Proposer’s default under any previous agreement with the City, which results in termination of the agreement.

8.9. Restrictions on Gifts & Activities

The City of Pittsburgh Ethics Code and Chapter 197 of the City Code (Code of Conduct) was established to promote public confidence in the proper operation of our local government. These resources outline the requirements for disclosure of interests and restricted activities as related to public procurement processes. Proposers are responsible to determine the applicability of these requirements to their activities and to comply with its requirements.

8.10. Rights of the City of Pittsburgh

This RFP does not commit the City to enter into a contract, nor does it obligate the City to pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of proposals or in anticipation of a contract.

The City reserves the right to:

A. Reject any and all proposals;

B. Issue subsequent Requests for Proposals;

C. Cancel this RFP with or without issuing another RFP;

D. Remedy technical errors in the Request for Proposals process;

E. Approve or disapprove the use of particular sub-consultants;

F. Make an award without further discussion of the submittal with the proposer (therefore, the proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms that the firm or individual might propose);

G. Meet with select proposers at any time to gather additional information;

H. Make adjustments to the scope of services at any time if deemed by the Office of Management and Budget to be in the best interest of the City;

I. Accept other than the lowest offer.

J. Waive any informality, defect, non-responsiveness, or deviation from this RFP that is not material to the Respondent’s proposal;

K. Reject the proposal of any Respondent who, in the City’s sole judgment, has been delinquent or unfaithful in the performance of any contract with the City;

L. Reject the proposal of any Respondent who, in the City’s sole judgment, is financially or technically incapable of performing in accordance with this RFP;

M. Negotiate with any, all, or none of the Offerors and to enter into an agreement with another

Offeror in the event that the originally selected finalist defaults or fails to execute an agreement with the City.

N. Award a contract to the firm(s) that presents the best qualifications and whose proposal best accomplishes the desired results; and/or

O. Enter into an agreement with another proposer in the event the originally selected proposer defaults or fails to execute an agreement with the City.

P. Require a performance bond and/or other “failure to deliver” agreement by the awardee at time of contracting.

8.11. PREVAILING WAGE ORDINANCE

Contractor agrees that section 161.16(e) of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances, stating that Contractor must pay at least the applicable prevailing wages as will have been determined by the City Controller pursuant to the City Service Worker Prevailing Wage Ordinance, Title I, Article VII, Section 161.38(I)(B), as the same may be amended, and as will have been determined by the Secretary of Labor and Industry to the workers employed in the performance of any contract for public work subject to the Pennsylvania

Prevailing Wage Act approved August 15, 1961 (Act No. 442), as amended August 9, 1963 (Act No. 342), and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, and all supplements and amendments thereto, must be made a part of the Contract as fully as if attached hereto, and that Contractor will comply in all respects with the provisions thereof, insofar as the same implicates the Contract.

8.12. ENSURING EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONS PREVIOUSLY

CONVICTED

Contractor shall comply with Section 161.16A of the Pittsburgh City Code.

9. Miscellaneous Requirements

9.1. Acknowledgements

A. Conflict of Interest- By submission of a proposal to this solicitation, Respondent agrees that it presently has no interest and shall not have any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner with the performance of the services required under this RFP.

B. Code of Ethics- By submission of a proposal to this solicitation, Respondent agrees to abide by the Code of Ethics of The City of Pittsburgh. The full Ethics Handbook can be found here:http://pittsburghpa.gov/humanresources/files/policies/10_Ethics_Handbook.pdf

C. Fair Trade Certification- By responding to this solicitation, the Respondent certifies that no attempt has been made, or will be made, by the Respondent to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a submission for the purpose of restricting competition.

D. Non-Disclosure- By responding to this solicitation, the Respondent acknowledges they may be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement during the contracting process if they are the successful respondent.

E. Debarment - This solicitation is also subject to Section 161.22 of the City of Pittsburgh Code related to debarment from bidding on and participating in City contracts.

F. Financial Interest- No proposal shall be accepted from, or contract awarded to, any individual or firm in which any City employee, director, or official has a direct or indirect financial interest in violation of applicable City and State ethics rules. Entities that are legally related to each other or to a common entity which seek to submit separate and competing proposals must disclose the nature of their relatedness.

G. Full Fee Disclosure- Pursuant to Section 161.36 of the Pittsburgh City Code, a Respondent must include a disclosure of any finder’s fees, fee splitting, firm affiliation or relationship with any broker-dealer, payments to consultants, lobbyists, or commissioned representatives or other contractual arrangements of the firm that could present a real or perceived conflict of interest.

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10. Vendor Questionnaire

10.1. Response to Scope Proposal

Please upload your Response to Scope detailed in Proposal Format Requirements

10.2. Cost Proposal

Please upload your Cost Proposal detailed in Proposal Format Requirements

10.3. Equal Opportunity Review Commission (EORC) Participation Form * Please download the below documents, complete the Pre-Award Good Faith Checklist, and upload.

Failure to complete the Pre-Award Good Faith Checklist may result in the City deeming your proposal/response non-responsive. Any awardees will be required to complete the full EORC

Participation Forms and process prior to contract execution.

• 2024_EORC_Participation_For...

*Response required

10.4. Do you agree with the City's Terms and Conditions?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

10.5. Vendor Contact Sheet*

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Blank_Vendor_Contact_Sheet.pdf

*Response required

10.6. Vendor Registration Form*

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Blank_Vendor_Registration_F...

*Response required

10.7. W-9*

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• W9.pdf

*Response required

10.8. Authorized Signatory*

Provide the name, title, & email address of the authorized signatory for your company (for details on who is considered an authorized signatory, please look at our terms & conditions section)

*Response required https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/pittsburghpa/projects/194460/document?section=1809075 https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/pittsburghpa/projects/194460/document?section=1809075 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