Hire or fire a particular employee

The FAR defines a nonpersonal services contract as “a contract under which the personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract’s terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees.” Stipulating the employees’ duty hours, requiring individuals to report to a Government person, requiring the contractor’s employees to complete certain Government forms, maintaining contractor personnel records such as time cards, and granting leave requests are examples of actions that are grounds for the nonpersonal services contractor to initiate a claim against the Government. The post-award administration of a non personal services contract is a critical time to use caution to prevent nonpersonal service contracts from becoming personal. The COR must be vigilant. This is a critical area and one that exposes the COR and the Government to liability. The solution is to write a SOO/SOW/PWS that specifies the duty hours and the contractor’s arrangement for supervising its employees. When contracting for services, it is Government policy to use performance-based contracting methods and to contract for nonpersonal services rather than personal services to the maximum extent practicable.