EEO Litigations and Other Employment Matters Legal Services

The purpose of this amendment is to provide the questions and answers received from industry in lieu of posting them as a separate attachment. 1. How many EEO complaints went to hearing in Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015? Answer: Zero. 2. How many appealable actions went before the Merit Systems Protection Board in FY 2014 and 2015? Answer: A total of three (3) actions went before the Merit Systems Protection Board in FY 2014 and 2015. 3. How many EEO complaints were settled in FY 2014 and 2015? Answer: A total of nine (9) EEO cases were settled in FY 2014 and 2015. However, please note that with respect to these EEO cases and the MSPB matters referenced above, the majority of these actions were handled by FHFA's in-house government counsel without the assistance of outside counsel. 4. In Volume I, Technical Questions, Experience & Resumes, the RFQ states: In addition to the resumes above, the Quoter shall identify at least one partner and one associate who shall be designated as key personnel. Key personnel are those attorneys who will have the primary/majority of responsibility for meeting the requirements of this solicitation and shall serve as FHFA's primary points-of-contact. We have very senior attorneys who are owners of the firm ("Partners"), very senior attorneys who are employees but do not have ownership interest in the firm ("Senior Counsel"), and more junior attorneys, at various levels, who are employees of the firm and do not have ownership interest in the firm ("Associate"). If, instead of a Partner and Associate, we designate a Senior Counsel and an Associate attorney as key personnel, will the government deem that acceptable under the quoted language? Answer: Yes, if the proposed personnel meet and/or exceed the minimum experience/qualifications for the key personnel positions that are set forth in the SOW. 5. Has the Government developed an estimate for the total hours of effort that will be required in the base year, and if so, what is that estimate? Answer: The estimated total number of hours is 750 as shown on Attachment C under Ordering Period I. However, as noted in the solicitation, this is not a guaranteed number of hours, as the actual number of hours required may vary significantly depending on the needs of the agency. 6. We anticipate that two Partners, three Counsel and one fourth-year Associate may, depending on the matter, work on potential employment law matters for FHFA. The RFQ does not mention Counsel as part of the Key Personnel, only Partner and Associate. Can we list and provide Counsel resumes that may assist on FHFA employment matters in Volume I: Technical Proposal or is it only open to Partners and Associates? And, it is the same in Attachment C - Price Quotation Worksheet, it does not provide a line to include information for Counsel. Can we add a line for Counsel or, if we are permitted to submit with Counsel, should we add them under "Associate"? Answer: Yes, resumes should be submitted for each attorney that the Quoter anticipates will work on the contract. For Attachment C, Quoters should identify any labor categories/rates in addition to those of Partner and Associate using the tab titled "Additional Labor Categories." Labor rates for these additional labor categories will be incorporated into the contract and will be applicable when individuals under those labor categories perform work. However, these labor rates will not be used as part of the total price evaluation. 7. Please advise if the FHFA can provide information regarding the volume of projected work in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania locations. Answer: All work is anticipated to be in Washington, DC. 8. Please advise if the FHFA can share the range of billable rates paid to outside law firms at the Partner, Counsel and Associate levels. Answer: FHFA cannot release this information. 9. Is there an incumbent contractor? If so, which firm is the incumbent? Answer: Yes. Shaw, Bransford & Roth, P.C. is the incumbent. 10. If we propose additional labor categories such as a Junior Associate labor category, then what quantity of hours should we use for our cost estimate/pricing for that additional labor category? Answer: No hours should be included for any proposed additional labor categories. The Quoter, shall, however, provide the hourly rates using Attachment C, specifically the tab titled, "Additional Labor Categories". 11. Is the government looking for a resubmittal of the contractor representations and certifications that we have already completed on www.SAM.gov or is that electronic record of representations and certifications sufficient if we reference that electronic record in our proposal response? Answer: A current electronic record of the completed SAM representations and certifications will suffice for the quote response. 12. It is it correct that a Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) not yet certified by the SBA or a third-party certifier authorized by the SBA can bid on this WOSB solicitation as long as it timely uploads the required documentation with the SBA WOSB Program Repository, namely, the WOMEN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS (WOSB) PROGRAM CERTIFICATION -- WOSBs, form SBA Form 2413 (11-14)? In other words, does the bidder have to already be certified as a WOSB by the SBA or a third-party entity authorized by the SBA prior to submission of our proposal response? Answer: Per FAR 19.1503, at time of quote submission, Quoters must be registered in SAM as WOSB or EDWOSB and have submitted documents verifying eligibility to the WOSB Program Repository. Refer to FAR 19.1503 (b) and (c) for further details. 13. On page 3 of the solicitation regarding Past Performance, it states "limited to no more than 2 pages for all 3 examples". Based on this text, is the government expecting a total of 6 pages for our three Past Performance examples/summaries or only a total of 2 pages for all three Past Performance examples/summaries? Answer: Two (2) pages total for all three (3) past performance examples. 14. On 3/16, we completed our electronic submission to the System for Award Management, however the system indicated that it could take up to 14 days for our submission to become "active". Additionally, we are eligible to qualify as a WOSB, however, we cannot begin the electronic application for WOSB certification until we are "active" through the SAM system. Can we submit our response to the RFQ if these applications to both SAM and WOSB portals are still in process? If so, what specific information, if any, do we need to provide as part of Volume III - Representations and Certifications/Women Owned Small Business Documentation Requirements? Answer: It is the Quoter's responsibility to ensure timely registration in SAM and timely submission to the WOSB Program Repository. 15. Is there an incumbent? And are they eligible to bid? Answer: Yes, there is an incumbent. FHFA is not in a position to determine eligibility at this time. 16. As a woman-owned government contractor that is not a law firm, can we PRIME this with law firms as subs for the purposes of filings? We have provided EEO and other discrimination statutes support to federal agencies for many years with senior and associate licensed attorneys, paralegals and legal assistance. Answer: As indicated on the scope of work (page 2 of Attachment A (Statement of Work)), FHFA is seeking the services of a law firm to perform the work as the prime contractor. Further, prime contractors must comply with FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, which requires the prime contractor to perform work representing at least 50% of the cost of contract performance. Moreover, FHFA anticipates that the majority of work required will be litigation services. 17. Is there a typical turnaround time for what is deemed urgent? Is there a quantity for what you define as significant level of effort as referenced in Item 13. Ordering Procedures, d. Availability of resources to perform urgent legal work or work which will require a significant level of effort. Answer: FHFA does not have a standard definition for these terms, as it will depend on the circumstances. 18. As a smaller, certified woman-owned law firm, we have yet to receive a contract related to employment matters. However, we specialize in labor and employment law and our attorneys are seasoned in employment litigation at the state and Federal level and in handling cases before administrative agencies, including the EEOC and PHRC. We have worked as a subcontractor via general contractors on contracts for the Commonwealth of PA and the City of Philadelphia, albeit in non-employment related matters. For the aforementioned reasons, would it be acceptable for us to submit non-contract related descriptions of our Past Performances with current and previous clients within Attachment A of our quote submission to RFQ No. FHF-17-Q-0001? Answer: It is up to each Quoter to determine what past performance examples best reflect its recent and relevant past performance. Non-contract examples of past performance may be submitted. However, FHFA may consider these examples/references less relevant than examples of legal representation that are more similar to the services required. Also, please note that a Questionnaire should be submitted by each reference. 19. I want to confirm that I understand the requirements for WOSBs doing the work for at least 51% of the work effort as it relates to the IDIQ level and the Task Order level. The question is this: Are we allowed to add subcontractors post-IDIQ award that would be WOSBs when we go to bid on particular Task Orders and then the 50% of the woman-owned small business work requirement could be satisfied by a combination of our WOSB as the prime and another WOSB who would be a subcontractor to us? Answer: Prime contractors must comply with FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, which requires the prime contractor to perform work representing at least 50% of the cost of contract performance. 20. We are in the process of completing the RFP, but we are stumped with Volume II, the Price Quotation. Our version of Attachment C has numbers ($11,000) already entered for each of the five periods. Because the tasks are as yet undefined, we're not clear on what FHFA is seeking in terms of a quotation. We can certainly provide you with the hourly rate of the personnel who will be involved with the tasks, but until we know the specifics it is difficult to estimate their cost. Answer: Attachment C contains seven (7) separate tabs (Summary, Ordering Period I, Ordering Period II, Ordering Period III, Ordering Period IV, Ordering Period V, and Additional Labor Categories). The Quoter shall complete the areas highlighted in yellow for each ordering period. The Quoter may also identify additional labor categories beyond those identified on each ordering period using the tab titled, "Additional Labor Categories". Refer to the submission instructions for Volume II - Price Quotation and Attachment C, Price Quotation Worksheet for further details.