20govcon Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Scenario: A Contractor is awarded an Indefinite Delivery Requirements Type Contract for services (various types of Instructors that will teach specific classes) whereby the contract is awarded subject to FAR 52.232-18- Availability of Funds, and the Government must issue task orders to actually order and fund the services. The contract includes CLINs for each Instructor, and vendors had to provide a fully burdened fixed hourly rate for each Instructor that would teach the classes. Question: Must the Contractor hire Instructors and submit the Instructors for Government required background checks before such time as the Government issues a task order and obtains funds? At the solicitation phase, vendors were not required to submit credentials of personnel, nor were vendors required to have any Instructors on staff. My concern is that the Government is requiring the Contractor to perform and to incur costs for a contract that is not funded, and when no orders have been issued. The Government says that furnishing personnel for the background checks is not really "performing" because the classes will not be taught, and is instead a condition of the contract. Even if furnishing personnel for the background checks is a condition of the contract, must a Contractor meet this condition when the contract is not funded, and is subject to FAR 52.232-18- Availability of Funds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illzoni Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 As in IDIQ/Requirements contract, it should include a guaranteed minimum. That minimum should be negotiated to cover the costs of effort you describe. The contractor is not obligated to perform until said minimum is funded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20govcon Posted October 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 Thank you for the response but to clarify, the contract is not an IDIQ contract, so there is no required minimum. It is a requirements contract, which is a type of indefinite delivery contract that requires no minimum. The contract itself is never funded, and funding is provided via the issuance of task orders. If the Government has no requirements, they do not have to order anything at all or provide any funding, which is why I think that an order should be issued before the Contractor is required to perform or to meet "conditions of the contract". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retreadfed Posted October 11, 2013 Report Share Posted October 11, 2013 20govcon, see the COFC decision at the following link and see if it helps answer your question. Of course, it would help if we knew what the contract says in regard to backgrtound checks. http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/BUSH.SIMS093013.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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