22.103-3 Procedures
Source: FAR 22.103-3 on acquisition.gov
Contracting officers must minimize government-paid overtime by careful scheduling, negotiation, and requiring detailed contractor overtime requests when necessary.
Overview
FAR 22.103-3 outlines the procedures contracting officers and contractors must follow regarding overtime in government contracts. The section aims to minimize government-incurred overtime costs by discouraging solicitation schedules that require overtime and by ensuring that contract negotiations address the inclusion of overtime and shift premiums. It also establishes requirements for contractors to submit detailed overtime requests when overtime is anticipated during contract performance.
Key Rules
- Avoid Overtime in Schedules
- Solicitations should not set delivery or performance schedules that necessitate overtime at government expense.
- Negotiation Practices
- Contracting officers must determine if offers include overtime or shift premiums and should negotiate prices without these premiums or seek alternative sources if possible.
- Overtime Requests
- If overtime is required, contractors must submit a request detailing all anticipated overtime, including information specified in FAR 52.222-2.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Must avoid specifying overtime in schedules, ascertain and negotiate overtime premiums during contract discussions, and obtain detailed overtime requests from contractors when necessary.
- Contractors: Must provide comprehensive overtime requests with required details if overtime is anticipated.
- Agencies: Should oversee compliance with these procedures to control overtime costs.
Practical Implications
This section exists to control and reduce unnecessary overtime costs in government contracts. It impacts daily contracting by requiring careful schedule planning, diligent negotiation regarding labor costs, and thorough documentation when overtime is unavoidable. Common pitfalls include failing to identify embedded overtime premiums in proposals or neglecting to obtain required overtime documentation from contractors.
(a) Solicitations normally shall not specify delivery or performance schedules that may require overtime at Government expense.
(b) In negotiating contracts, contracting officers should, consistent with the Government’s needs, attempt to-
(1) Ascertain the extent that offers are based on the payment of overtime and shift premiums; and
(2) Negotiate contract prices or estimated costs without these premiums or obtain the requirement from other sources.
(c) When it becomes apparent during negotiations of applicable contracts (see 22.103-5(b)) that overtime will be required in contract performance, the contracting officer shall secure from the contractor a request for all overtime to be used during the life of the contract, to the extent that the overtime can be estimated with reasonable certainty. The contractor’s request shall contain the information required by paragraph (b) of the clause at 52.222-2, Payment for Overtime Premiums.