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Meals and LQA for OCONUS US Hires


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How are authorizations put into a Contract for various types of allowances (meals, living Quarters, Post Hardship Differential, Danger, Education) for Contractor US Hires working OCONUS Assignments (Multiple Year Contracts).  I guess what I am asking is how any Department of State Allowances get into a Government Contract.  I see that USAID has a Clause.  Does Air Force or Army have a similar clause.  Does the RFP authorize in Section H.

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Maybe I am not asking the question correctly.  Do the Department of State Allowances automatically apply?  The Department of State Website states  that contractors are not directly covered by the DSSR.   How then, do they become applicable.

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2 hours ago, DOECPA said:

Do the Department of State Allowances automatically apply?

No.  The only part of the DSSR that is incorporated in the FAR are those portions that deal with lodging and incidental expenses.  See FAR 31.205-46.  If you want other DSSR provisions to be applicable to a contract, you will have to insert them in a solicitation and get the contractor to agree to their applicability.

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1 hour ago, Retreadfed said:

No.  The only part of the DSSR that is incorporated in the FAR are those portions that deal with lodging and incidental expenses.  See FAR 31.205-46.  If you want other DSSR provisions to be applicable to a contract, you will have to insert them in a solicitation and get the contractor to agree to their applicability.

Agree that the DSSR is not automatically incorporated. Disagree with the interpretation of 31.205-46. In my reading, DSSR lodging and per diem rates apply ONLY IF there is no FTR or JTR coverage. Thus, first look to FTR and JTR for coverage. If there is no coverage, then (and only then) look to DSSR.

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...since the the JTR rather plainly states in its introduction that it does not apply to contractors (other than personal services) don't forget to look first to the contract for the language that establishes some relationship to the JTR (e.g., "at rates not to exceed those set forth in the JTR", or alternatively, "at rates consistent with the limits at FAR 31.205-46").

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On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 2:13 PM, Retreadfed said:

insert them in a solicitation and get the contractor to agree to their applicability.

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19 hours ago, FAR-flung 1102 said:

look first to the contract for the language

What I'm trying to do is make sure that my potential contractors won't have an issue when they invoice for Post Hardship Differential Allowance and Danger Allowance.  Do I have to put something, somewhere, in the solicitation that authorized the contractor to bill up to the maximum of the DSSR Allowance.  Is there sample language anywhere or a clause that is pertinent.

I'm also concerned if my potential contractors may be entitled to any of the other DSSR Allowance for COLA, Living Quarters, and Education.  Do contractors get reimbursed for meals when they are already getting their wages and are not on TDY.  These assignments are for one year or more and are not travel but rather overseas assignments.

 

 

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Contractor employees do not get JTR or DSSR payments, period.  Even so, I understand that USAID expects its cost-reimbursement contractors to provide certain payments to some contractor employees working overseas through use of the clause at AIDAR 752.7028 -- the authority for these payments to contractor employees is the contract clause, not the DSSR, but the clause incorporates DSSR limits as caps or ceilings on payments.

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 6:28 AM, DOECPA said:

What I'm trying to do is make sure that my potential contractors won't have an issue when they invoice for Post Hardship Differential Allowance and Danger Allowance.

You are thinking the wrong way.  You shouldn't care about these things especially for a fixed-price or T&M contract).

You should care that your future contractor has an employee pay package that will attract and retain employees of the quality you need for your mission and successful contract performance.  You might make that a part of your evaluation approach, if you feel there is a need to make sure of this before selecting the winning contractor.  

If Offeror A proposes to pay a certain employee category a rate of at least $100/hour and Offeror B proposes to pay at least $65/hour + actual reimbursement for meals and lodging + up to $100/day for danger location + whatever else, you can evaluate those two and select the best value offeror, considering all the evaluation factors.  But please, stop trying to treat contractor employees as federal employees.

And don't worry about the contractor's future invoicing.  The contractor can handle that imaginary problem.  If a contractor's accounting practices and disclosure statement sloppiness and so forth hinder its ability to get invoices approved, that is its own problem to rectify.  If a contractor tries to get reimbursement for paying amounts higher than those allowed by FAR 31.205-6 (compensation) or -46 (travel), it deserves to lose its argument.

You could simply copy and tailor the AIDAR clause into your solicitation and resulting contract, if it is a cost-reimbursement contract.  UCF Section H is a good place.

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6 hours ago, DOECPA said:

What I'm trying to do is make sure that my potential contractors won't have an issue when they invoice for Post Hardship Differential Allowance and Danger Allowance.  Do I have to put something, somewhere, in the solicitation that authorized the contractor to bill up to the maximum of the DSSR Allowance.  Is there sample language anywhere or a clause that is pertinent.

I'm also concerned if my potential contractors may be entitled to any of the other DSSR Allowance for COLA, Living Quarters, and Education.  Do contractors get reimbursed for meals when they are already getting their wages and are not on TDY.  These assignments are for one year or more and are not travel but rather overseas assignments.

This is a situation where market research supplies the answers. Pick two or three companies experienced in this type work and ask questions.  Find out how other customers deal with similar issues and what works.  Then ask other government agencies what their experiences are and their recommendations.  A great question for everyone is “if you were in my position, what would you do?” 

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On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 4:08 PM, here_2_help said:

Disagree with the interpretation of 31.205-46. In my reading, DSSR lodging and per diem rates apply ONLY IF there is no FTR or JTR coverage.

Please look again at the cost principle.  The various travel regs apply is specific geographic areas.  This is exclusive coverage and there is no overlap.  For example, the FTR only applies to travel in the lower 48 states and DC.

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13 hours ago, Retreadfed said:

Please look again at the cost principle.  The various travel regs apply is specific geographic areas.  This is exclusive coverage and there is no overlap.  For example, the FTR only applies to travel in the lower 48 states and DC.

Agree with you regarding the JTR.

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This was CPFF and evaluated at the Total Taxable Compensation amount not including PTO which is in Fringe.  Offerors provided a labor buildup in their own format including any locality allowance, non-discretionary incentive bonuses, and any subsistence allowance.  Offerors were advised that none of these items were in Other Direct Cost.

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