[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13710-13712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04556]


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NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD


Analysis of FY 2011 Service Contract Inventories

AGENCY: National Labor Relations Board.

ACTION: Notice of analysis of FY 2011 Service Contract Inventories.

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    Background: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an 
independent Federal Agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer 
the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations 
between and among unions, employees, and employers in the private 
sector. The statute guarantees the right of

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employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers or 
to refrain from all such activity. Generally applying to all employers 
involved in interstate commerce other than airlines, railroads, 
agriculture, and government, the Act implements the national labor 
policy of assuring free choice and encouraging collective bargaining as 
a means of maintaining industrial peace. Through the years, Congress 
has amended the Act and the Board and courts have developed a body of 
law drawn from the statute. The NLRB consists of 51 regional, sub-
regional, and resident offices, and a headquarters office.
    Scope: Pursuant to the December 19, 2011 Memorandum from the Office 
of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Federal agencies are requested to 
conduct an analysis of special interest functions within the FY 2011 
Service Contract Inventories submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) in accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the FY 
2011 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law 111-117. The NLRB 
hereby submits its analysis and findings.
    Methodology: The NLRB performed an analysis of the special interest 
functions by pulling information on all FY 2011 service contracts over 
$25,000 from FPDS-NG with the special interest Product Service Codes 
(PSC) selected from the Service Contract Summary. We decided on a 
sample of three (3) contracts that are representative of the NLRB 
service contract inventory which we believe provides an illustrative 
representation of the overall inventory of special interest contracts. 
This sample provides information about one (1) service contract from 
each of the two (2) PSC categories that make up the FY2011 NLRB 
inventory. The contracts were analyzed by NLRB Contracting Officers by 
gathering information in cooperation with Contracting Officers 
Representative (COR) and Program Managers to determine whether the 
contract labor is used appropriately and efficiently and if the mix of 
Federal employees and contractors in the agency is effectively 
balanced. The analysis specifically addresses the desired outcomes in 
Section 743(e) of Division C of the FY 2011 Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, Public Law 111-117 to ensure that:
    (A) Each contract in the inventory that is a personal services 
contract has been entered into, and is being performed, in accordance 
with applicable laws and regulations;
    (B) The agency is giving special management attention to functions 
that are closely associated with inherently governmental functions;
    (C) The agency is not using contractor employees to perform 
inherently governmental functions;
    (D) The agency has specific safeguards and monitoring systems in 
place to ensure that work being performed by contractors has not 
changed or expanded during performance to become an inherently 
governmental function;
    (E) The agency is not using contractor employees to perform 
critical functions in such a way that could affect the ability of the 
agency to maintain control of its mission and operations; and
    (F) There are sufficient internal agency resources to manage and 
oversee contracts effectively.
    Observations and Findings: The NLRB inventory consists of service 
contracts from three (3) PSC Category codes. The codes are:
     R407 OCIO Advisory Services;
     R408 Enterprise IT Helpdesk Support Services; and
     R704 Agency Audit Services.
    R407--The contract representing R407, obligated in the amount of 
$47,320, is for Office of Computer Information Officer (OCIO) Advisory 
Services, and is the only contract listed under the R407 PSC code. 
Discussions with the OCIO reveal that the contract continues to be 
well-managed by the contractor and meets the scope and intent of the 
requirement to provide advisement information to the OCIO, and adheres 
to all applicable laws and regulations. The contract is not a personal 
services contract. The agency is not using contractor employees to 
perform inherently governmental functions. The advisement information 
provided by the contractor is typically beyond the intrinsic duties and 
knowledge of the government and the OCIO continues to provide 
management attention to ensure any functions that could be closely 
associated with inherently governmental functions do not surface. The 
COR is the Chief Information Officer who ensures that the contract does 
not change or expand services to become inherently governmental, the 
OCIO is monitoring the work and systems in place. The contractor did 
not perform critical functions that would affect the ability of the 
agency to maintain control of its mission and operations and is never 
on site. The contractor advises the OCIO, on trends in the government 
and industry and control is maintained by the government by managing it 
closely and effectively at all times.
    R408--The contract selected to represent PSC code R408 is the 
second largest contract in the largest PSC group of special interest 
service contracts obligated in the amount of $1,588,851. This contract 
provides Enterprise IT Helpdesk Support Services for the NLRB. The 
services provided under this contract are not inherently governmental 
and although the performance of the contract is important, contractors 
were not being used to perform critical functions in such a way that 
could affect the ability of the agency to maintain control of its 
mission and operations. The NLRB has given special management attention 
to performance of this contract, but no functions are thought to be 
closely associated with being inherently governmental, nor has changed 
or expanded, during performance, to become inherently governmental. The 
contract is monitored closely by a COR, the Supervisory Information 
Technology Specialist who understands the contract requirement and 
manages it to remain within the scope of the requirement. In addition, 
there are several OCIO (government) employees working closely with this 
contract, so there are sufficient internal resources to administer and 
oversee the contract effectively. The contractor has performed well and 
adhered to all laws and regulations.
    R704--The contract selected to represent PSC code R704 is for Audit 
Services from Carmichael, Brasher, Tuvell, and Company. This contract 
with a base year and four (4) one-year options totals $942,148. This 
contract was chosen as representative because it is also the only 
contract in this PSC category. This was a non-personal services 
contract that provided the NLRB with an independent financial audit. 
The contractor has performed well, and has adhered to laws and 
regulations, so there are no concerns about poor performance. The 
contract is not a personal services contract, nor was it ever 
inherently governmental, and has been monitored to ensure that no 
employees of the contractor were performing inherently governmental 
tasks or responsibilities. The agency is not using contractor employees 
to perform critical functions in such a way that could affect the 
ability of the agency to maintain control of its mission and 
operations. The contract is monitored closely by a COR and other 
program staff, so there are sufficient internal resources dedicated to 
oversee the contract effectively.

SUMMARY: It has been determined that none of the service contractors 
within the special interest contracts have been considered to have 
performed poorly.

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The costs of the contracts analyzed were not excessively priced and did 
not present excessive risks to the government. The NLRB takes pride in 
monitoring service contracts closely with full cooperation from 
Contracting Officers, CORs, and Program Staff and Managers. Based on 
this analysis, we believe we have a balanced mix of contractors to 
employees and have the resources necessary to continue monitoring 
contracts effectively and efficiently to reduce risks of personal or 
inherently governmental contracts. The NLRB is committed to identifying 
and addressing any new risks related to service contracts, and will 
meet the challenges with swift and evasive action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the analysis of 
the FY 2011 service contract inventories should be directed to Doug 
Wolf in the Acquisitions Management Branch at 202-273-4218 or 
[email protected].

    Dated: February 22, 2013.

    By Direction of the Board.
William B. Cowen,
Solicitor.
[FR Doc. 2013-04556 Filed 2-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7545-01-P