ITAR stuff

Current as of 16 May 2012

For ITAR Violations, in addition to the penalties to the company, the individual employee may be faced with: 

Willful Violations:  "Individual - A fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to ten years, or both, for each violation."
Knowing Violations:  "Individual - A fine of up to the greater of $50,000 or five times the value of the exports or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, for each violation."

Note that a single case may involve multiple violations and these penalties are for each violation.

source:  http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50a/usc_sec_50a_00002410----000-.html
TITLE 50, APPENDIX App. > EXPORT > § 2410 Violations

Kudos Received

8/30/11 Tom McCabe

Amy, sorry my flight was late and could not review. But I would not jhave changed a thing. Perfect presentation and more importantly, perfect facilitation today. Thank you for the professional competence you showed today in leading the team through your very complex and challenging ares. I think youmade a huge difference I'm making the workshop a resounding success. Got nothing but positive feedback from some newly opened eyes!

VR,

Tommy

12/10/10 Wayne Gibbons

Amy….my sincere thanks for your level of support to this office over these past five weeks.  Your daily coordination with our govt. counterparts and this office in coming to successful closure on a multitude of contract mods for both MTSS and SCETC/ATG has been no small task.     Compounding the timely execution of the contract mods was  my short tenure here and the absence of our operations officer.  In spite of these personnel handicaps, I believe we were successful in meeting govt. requirements…….due in large measure to your support.  Again, thanks!

Wayne

11/21/10 Jim Hawn

Just wanted to tell you that Amy has been doing heroic work on the ATG contract, dealing with all the changes and many frustrations as we've gone through this process.  Well deserving of some kudos from above.

Jim

Headers in Excel

Notes on how to set up "dynamic" headers in Excel so you can update the variable data within a worksheet and through running a Macro will then update in each page header.  This allows you to avoid having to update the header data individually on each worksheet.

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DO NOT RENAME THIS WORKSHEET TAB - IT MUST BE "Sheet4"

 

Information to include in cell A3:  "Proposal Dated: 21 November 2011"  Note, this RightHeader information MUST remain in cell A3

 

To insert this information into your header:

1) SAVE your file

2) SAVE AS a new revision (note, you must select "Save as type" as "Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook")

*These two steps are important because this "header process" is done by MACRO

There is no way to UNDO a MACRO once it has been run             

You can overright the information by changing the text in cell A3 and then rerunning the MACRO            

But, if something goes amiss and messes up all the other page formatting you will be very upset that you skipped these two steps, I promise.

3) Click on the "Developer" tab

4) Click on the "Macros" button

5) Select:

"ThisWorkbook.PrintReport"

6) Click "Run"

Note, if your Developer tab isn't showing:

Right click on any other tab (ie Page Layout)

Select "Customize the Ribbon"

On the right side of the window, make sure the check box beside "Developer" is checked           

 

The macro code should be added to "ThisWorkbook" under the "Genaral" tab as a "Print Report" and is written as follows:

 

Sub PrintReport()

    Dim wks As Worksheet

    Dim ftr

    ftr = Sheet4.Range("A3").Value

    For Each wks In Worksheets

        With wks.PageSetup

            .RightHeader = "&""Times New Roman,Italic""" & ftr

        End With

    Next wks

End Sub

JTR info which I routinely cite

In accordance with Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) Volume 2, C4553 paragraph C2, laundry expenses are separately allowable and not included as part of the M&IE allowance.  An excerpt from this section reads as follows:

NOTE: The cost for clothing laundry, dry-cleaning and pressing is a separately reimbursable expense in addition to per diem/AEA when travel is within CONUS and requires at least 4 consecutive nights TDY/PCS lodging in CONUS. The cost for laundry/dry-cleaning/ pressing clothing is not a separate reimbursable travel expense for travel OCONUS and is included as a reimbursable expense within the AEA authorized/approved for OCONUS travel.

In accordance with JTR Volume 2, C2000 paragraph B, receipts are not required for expenses under $75.  An excerpt from this section reads as follows:

A. General. A traveler must exercise the same care and regard for incurring GOV'T paid expenses as would a prudent person traveling at personal expense.

 B. Receipts. IAW DoDFMR 7000.14-R, Volume 9, a traveler must maintain records/receipts for:

1. Individual expenses of $75 or more, and

2. All lodging costs.

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Note: these allowances and paragraph references valid as of 11 May 2012.  Source: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/JTR%28Ch1-7%29.pdf

FAR info, etc.

These are things that I find myself repeatedly looking up and language that I've drafted in the past that I'm always digging back up to reuse.

 

Profit versus Fee

 

*Profit vs. Fee  - They are different

*Chapter 12 located at http://fast.faa.gov/PricingHandbook.cfm?p_title=Functions

 

"When used as general terms, profit and fee are often interchangeable.  The purpose of both is to compensate the contractor for risks assumed during contract performance and to stimulate efficient contract performance."

 

"Profit represents revenue in excess of applicable costs of contract performance.  Simply stated, profit equals the negotiated contract price less applicable contract costs."

 

"Fee, which is associated with cost reimbursable contracts, represents a flat charge paid as compensation for services or supplies provided.  It may be fixed fee or it may vary based on incentive structures."

 

FAR Clause reference WD escalation

 

http://www.arnet.gov/far/current/html/52_222.html

 

52.222-43 excerpt:

(b) The Contractor warrants that the prices in this contract do not include any allowance for any contingency to cover increased costs for which adjustment is provided under this clause.

 

Discussion on this topic can be found at:

http://www.wifcon.com/arc/forum422.htm

 

Excerpt from a discussion on a federal contracting message board seems to confirm our though:

 

No escalation following FAR 52.222-43 means Direct Labor (DL) and the stipulated Health & Welfare (H&W) cannot be escalated at all. BUT, DL & H&W do not exist alone in the pricing structure. Overhead still escalates. Fringe not covered by the H&W allowance escalates. G&A escalates. So, I don't touch DL or H&W, but all else--especially in a multi-year risky T&M bid-- must be escalated.

 

The reason is simple. As a contractor, the only adjustments I can expect to see when a new DoL Wage Determination is issued is a penny-for-penny increase in the DL and a penny-for-penny increase for H&W. Therefore, I MUST be allowed to escalate other expenses not covered by DL and H&W. As an evaluator, you may very well see what appears to be escalation because the burdened labor goes up from year-to-year, but it may be due to the non-DL and non-H&W factors.

 

 

WD adjustment proposal language

 

Your proposal should be in accordance with FAR Clause 52.222-43.  Please remember that you can only apply changes "in social security and unemployment taxes and workers' compensation insurance, but shall not otherwise include any amount for general and administrative costs, overhead, or profit".  In other words, only FICA (medcare & OASDI) which is a government mandated 7.65% and Workers Compensation (whatever your company's premium percentage is) and FUI/SUI (Federal Unemployment Insurance and State Unemployment Insurance).  So, not full OH, G&A, or other indirects nor any Profit.  Also, if you elected to pay employees higher than the original or new WD you can only claim the increase from the higher rate the employees were being paid and the rate on the new WD (see FAR 52.222-43(d)(1) for full explanation).  Please reflect the amount of change separately from the originally proposed amount for each position and then reflect a new total.  Let me know if this doesn't make sense and we can talk about layout.

 

Odd versus Even WDs

 

>>>From June 2008<<<<<

My understanding is rudimentary, but based on guidance from our Human Resource department, with an odd # the H&W payment is based on "hours paid to a maximum of 40 hours per week based on the benefit cost resulting from the individual employee's benefit elections" while with an even # the is payment is based on "hours worked based on the on an average of the total benefit cost for SCA employees by site by contract".

 

There are two key factors:  1) is the differentiation of "hours paid" versus "hours worked"  and 2) that the amount of differential the employee is elegible for is base on "the company's cost of employee's individual elections" versus "the company's cost based on the average of the elections of the entire site".  When considering factor 1, this means vacation and holiday hours are exempt from the H&W differential when using an even # WD.  When considering factor 2, this means the amount of the differential paid is based on the average of the total benefit cost of the entire site vice the benefit cost by employee.

 

Typically, although not always, in a situation where employees are not working considerable over time (along with other factors based on typical benefit elections across the site) an odd # WD will most likely result in H&W payments which are more favorable to the employee.

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The DOL website http://www.wdol.gov/usrguide/sectionb.html#B5a1 lists the clarification as:

 

"Compliance with the H&W rate on all "odd numbered" Standard WDs (i.e., WD No. 2005-2103 or WD No. 2005-2113) requires payment of the minimum H&W rate for each hour paid for each employee, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week. [See 29 CFR 4.175(a)] Compliance with the H&W rate on all "even numbered" Standard WDs (i.e., WD No. 2005-2104 or WD No. 2005-2114) requires the contractor to contribute an average of the stated H&W rate per hour, computed on the basis of all hours worked by service employees on the contract."

 

It goes on to say:

 

"When selecting a Standard WD, the contracting officer must select the Standard WD with the appropriate health and welfare method. The guidelines for selection are as follows:

 

First Guideline: Were the services previously performed under a contract that incorporated an even numbered Standard WD? If so, for all following contract periods and follow-on contracts for substantially the same services that will be performed in the same locality, select the even numbered Standard WD for that same locality. [Reference -- 29 CFR 4.52(d)] When following the current WD selection menu, this is the reason for the question regarding whether the services were "performed under an SCA wage determination that ends in an even number".

 

Second Guideline: If the services were not previously performed under contract using an even numbered Standard WD, or if the services were not previously performed under an SCA-covered contract, then select the odd numbered Standard WD for that locality. When following the current WD selection menu, answering the menu questions correct should obtain the odd numbered WD response."