RFP for Telephonic Interpretation Services

The State of Oregon's Employment Department, specifically the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), is seeking up to three contractors to provide pre-scheduled telephonic interpretation services for administrative hearings. The procurement, identified as RFP S-47100-00015378, requires vendors to offer certified spoken language interpreters for a minimum of ten languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Amharic, Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Cantonese, Oromo, and Mandarin. Services must be available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time, with potential occasional hours outside this timeframe. Interpreters will be required to dial into conference bridge systems for hearings ranging from one to eight continuous hours, potentially spanning multiple days. The agency will use a Best Value Analysis (BVA) to evaluate offers, scoring up to 800 points across criteria including language availability, offeror qualifications, service delivery processes, interpreter expertise, references, and cost. Key proposal dates include November 24, 2025, for questions and clarifications, with final proposals due December 15, 2025, at 9:00 AM PST. Contractors must demonstrate a minimum of three years of legal interpretation experience and maintain Professional Liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per claim.

The RFP includes a Certified Disadvantaged Business Outreach Plan, encouraging participation from Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) certified businesses, including minority-owned (MBE), woman-owned (WBE), service-disabled veteran-owned (SDV), and emerging small businesses (ESB). Offerors must document prior relationships with certified firms and demonstrate steps to solicit certified subcontractors. While no specific budget range is explicitly stated, historical data shows approximately 587 interpreter requests totaling 1,084 billed hours between August 2024 and August 2025. The initial contract term is three years, with potential renewals not to exceed five years total. Pricing will be submitted on an hourly basis by language, with a one-hour minimum billing for hearings of one hour or less, and additional time billed in 15-minute increments. Contractors will be paid net 45 days from invoice receipt, and no minimum or maximum work volumes are guaranteed. The state anticipates awarding contracts based on a comprehensive evaluation of language capabilities, pricing, experience, and operational capacity.