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Telecommuting for Government Contractors


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The Acquisition Department awarded a task order against the Federal Supply Schedule for Program Management Support Services. The period of performance for these services is 9/26/08 - 12/30/10. The contractor is required to perform these services on the government premises. The Contracting Officer also permitted the contractor to perform these services away from the government premises (telecommute); however, there was no written agreement established at time of award nor was there a written statement included in the SOW. Can the task order be modified to include this agreement? And if so, what do I include in the modification?

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The Acquisition Department awarded a task order against the Federal Supply Schedule for Program Management Support Services. The period of performance for these services is 9/26/08 - 12/30/10. The contractor is required to perform these services on the government premises. The Contracting Officer also permitted the contractor to perform these services away from the government premises (telecommute); however, there was no written agreement established at time of award nor was there a written statement included in the SOW. Can the task order be modified to include this agreement? And if so, what do I include in the modification?

Let me understand this correctly - the place of performance as stated in the FSS order is "Government premises" and the KO is permitting the contractor to telecommute from another location without a modification to the order. Are you asking whether telecommuting is within the scope of this order? I would not think so as the cost to telecommute is often less than working on location. Did the GSA FSS price include location work or the option to telecommute? Did the RFQ include the possibility of telecommuting? Would offeror's quotes have been different if telecommuting was permissible under the GSA RFQ? What about IT security issues - will your IT permit a contractor remote access? In addition, even though the actual work being done by the contractor is not changing, the location may not allow sufficient Government oversight. Does your office have a legal advisor - If so, I would ask for a review and a determination. Let me know what happens - I find this very interesting.

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Let me understand this correctly - the place of performance as stated in the FSS order is "Government premises" and the KO is permitting the contractor to telecommute from another location without a modification to the order. Are you asking whether telecommuting is within the scope of this order? I would not think so as the cost to telecommute is often less than working on location. Did the GSA FSS price include location work or the option to telecommute? Did the RFQ include the possibility of telecommuting? Would offeror's quotes have been different if telecommuting was permissible under the GSA RFQ? What about IT security issues - will your IT permit a contractor remote access? In addition, even though the actual work being done by the contractor is not changing, the location may not allow sufficient Government oversight. Does your office have a legal advisor - If so, I would ask for a review and a determination. Let me know what happens - I find this very interesting.
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leo1102,

Option to Telecommute was not specified in the SOW; however, it was permitted by the C/O at time of award. The RFQ did not specify "Option to Telecommute"; however, the contractor's quote was based on proposed onsite as well as offsite hourly rates. To ensure the contract file is documented, should I modify the SOW and execute a modification to reflect this agreement?

The IT Department has permitted remote asses to the contractor. I have contacted our legal department; however, no response. Any advice you may have would be helpful. Thanks.

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Acq_4_life, are the off-site hourly rates actually intended for instances of the contractors working at the contractor facility? If so, if contractors are tele-working, I think a case could be made that the government-site rate would still be most appropriate. The contractor-site rates are often designed to re-coup costs incurred by use of the contractor's own facility-which would not be happening in this case.

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Guest carl r culham

One question not being asked here that has a bearing on scope is whether the GSA FSS under which the order was written allows telecommuting. While the GSA FSS specific contract with the firm is most likely silent, if it does specifically state work on site only then there is a bigger scope question facing you than just the whether scope of the order can be construed to allowing telecomute, the order itself would be outside the scope of the GSA FSS. So back track a little and determine if the telecommuting is allowed by the GSA FSS.

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One question not being asked here that has a bearing on scope is whether the GSA FSS under which the order was written allows telecommuting. While the GSA FSS specific contract with the firm is most likely silent, if it does specifically state work on site only then there is a bigger scope question facing you than just the whether scope of the order can be construed to allowing telecomute, the order itself would be outside the scope of the GSA FSS. So back track a little and determine if the telecommuting is allowed by the GSA FSS.

Carl: I did ask that question in my post on 9 Feb. And I fully agree with your point.

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You ask of a mod is in order. Well, yes - a mod is in order where the contract requires on-site performance, the KO has made a constructive change to the contract requirement, the contract price is based upon on-site performance and the actual cost basis is lower than the basis for pricing the task order.

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