INQUIRY:

Paul, can you address the impact on our contractor work force of the Executive Order issued on 21 Dec which I believe declared the 24th of December a National Holiday.

Government was very unclear and fractious on how contractor work force and contractors should deal with this "holiday."

We told our employees who could not get inside a work center (due to closure) they had to take LWOP or vacation.  This was/is very painful for my workforce.   Anything on this would be great.

Sincerely, CPCM, NCMA Fellow 

 

RESPONSE:

In my opinion, your contract language and clauses, including clauses incorporated by reference, should be your first detailed review for this situation.  If there is nothing in the contract pertaining to this, what would I do?

I would consider requesting an Equitable Adjustment to the contract.  I would provide a detailed breakdown and then a summary of the Dollar Impact of this unforeseen government cost.  I would indicate that this action was outside the scope of the original contract and therefore an adjustment and modification is warranted.

You mentioned the government was unclear and fractious, so it would be important to know specifically what guidance they provided.  Review it closely.

Based on company financial ability, at the least, I might consider providing the “holiday” as paid for all employees scheduled to work on that day and include it in my Fringe Benefit Pool. This would impact any Indirect Rates, although only for Cost Type Reimbursement Contracts for 2012.

 

FUTURE: Consider looking at upcoming calendars for several years and see where this might happen again, including other holidays like Xmas.  Then when you develop your Fringe Benefit Rate that includes leave, make sure you “Project” these “Potential” additional holidays.  You now have “historic” support for making this estimate.

At the very least, you will be putting your customer on notice that these are potential expenses.  That is why I like to see, and I look closely for, the Equitable Adjustment clause in contracts.  (also see FAR Part 43)

You can follow this thought process for other similar types of situations where additional cost could be incurred. 

Hope this helps!