MAS contractors providing professional labor categories must demonstrate the personnel they are providing under each GSA task order to meet the minimum qualifications as specified in their contract.
Professional services labor employees are:
- Considered exempt from the Service Contract Act (SCA) such as those who qualify as executive, administrative, or professionals under the definitions provided in 29 C.F.R. Part 541.
- Generally salaried employees not paid on an hourly basis
- Either supervise others, make decisions of importance and significance using independent judgment, and/or perform work primarily requiring advanced education and experience.
If providing professional services, your MAS contract will typically be awarded with labor categories, which will describe the minimum qualifications required of the person serving in that particular capacity. The minimum qualifications are established by your company during the pre-award phase or at the time labor categories are added to your MAS contract. Therefore, the labor categories will be unique to each contractor’s particular MAS contract.
For example, Company X has a labor category titled “Network Engineer”, which requires a bachelor’s degree and ten years of experience. Therefore, if Company X is bidding on a task order project, offers their “Network Engineer”, and is awarded the project, Company X must ensure the employee serving in this capacity has a bachelor’s degree and ten years of experience. Otherwise, Company X will be found to have provided unqualified labor for that particular project and is noncompliant with the terms and conditions of their MAS contract.
This requirement cannot be waived by the ordering CO. If you find that you need to adjust your labor category qualification requirements or add additional labor categories, it may be possible. Contact your GSA PCO for additional information.
Industrial Operations Analysts (IOAs) review your labor as part of your compliance assessment. They may ask you to demonstrate the personnel provided on MAS task orders meet the qualifications and experience as provided in their respective MAS contract. Your IOA may ask to look at resumés, timesheets, and other personnel documentation to ensure you are indeed providing qualified labor on MAS task orders. The IOA will refer any issues found regarding the qualified labor provided to the Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO) for appropriate follow-on action.
If you have any questions regarding the specific labor you are providing and/or are not sure if the additional review is applicable to you, please contact your PCO. If you have questions related to the Contractor Assessment and the additional review of professional labor qualifications, please contact your IOA.