Design To Delivery Inc Blog

White House Announces Change to IT Strategy

The White House announced that it will be changing how the government purchases and uses Information Technology. This is welcomed news and is overdue. Government contractors have always known that the IT acquisition process is long and drawn out. And while the government may request innovation in the solicitation, the proposed solution may not be innovative by the time it is implemented. This means the technology the government uses oftens lags behind the technology available in the commercial sector.

According to a Washington Business Journal blog post on Friday November 19, this will be changing. Their post “New federal IT strategy a step forward” quotes Jeffrey Zients, who is the acting director and chief performance officer of the Office of Management and Budget, as saying the plan will "fundamentally change how the federal government purchases and uses IT." The hope is that acquisitions will be conducted on a more timely basis, with quicker decisions. As a company that works with IT government contractors, we certainly hope so.

To read the WBJ’s entire blog post visit: www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2010/11/new-federal-it-strategy-a-step-forward.html

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Now is the Time to Plan for Inclement Weather

Washington, DC saw record levels of snow in February 2010. The federal government was closed for four days. These two events on their own are daunting situations. Combined, they wreak havoc on government contractors. Kudos to the D2DInc staff for really working together to ensure deadlines were met and projects and proposals continued forward. We have no idea what type of winter we’ll see this year, but we’re offering suggestions on how to prepare now. Even if you live in a warm climate, your proposal delivery may be affected by the weather in another region.
 
D2DInc was extremely prepared for the back-to-back 2010 blizzards. Once we knew that a big storm was brewing, we started making contingency plans early so work could continue. We discussed approaches to address power loss and other potential problems/challenges. We asked our staff keep their laptops and mobile phones charged. We established clear lines of communication so staff would know who to contact with questions and for updates. Management continuously monitored the news for information regarding the weather and clean-up operations, the government’s status (open or closed for the following business day), had regular calls/emails to stay up-to-date on projects with deliverables during this period. We monitored FedBizOpps to determine if any modifications were released on solicitations or if new RFPs were released so we could adjust plans as needed. We also developed alternate suggestions for proposal production in case access to our office was not possible or if we lost power. We even recommended to a client to consider getting a hotel room near the agency to ensure on-time delivery should the government be open, but the roads too dangerous to drive. As a result of this advance planning, D2DInc operations continued even while the government and other businesses were closed.
 
We want to pass on information that we believe is helpful not only in inclement weather, but are just good practices.

• Continuously monitor information sites so you’re aware of updates and statuses that affect your proposal and/or contracts. The government may have a “no work, no pay” clause on your contract(s). Make sure you know the policy and make sure your corporate policy accurately reflects what your policy is/should be.
•  Back-up, back-up, back-up!  Make sure that you have backed-up copies of key information and proposal files on external sources such as an external drive or an off-site location. It’s important to ensure your data is encrypted and/or password protected. Make sure that copies of information you need to keep your business running are accessible. For instance, we use an online timekeeping system and have access to our accounting application so processing payroll during these historic storms wasn’t a problem.
• If you exclusively use desktop computers, consider purchasing one or more laptops so work can continue in the event that your office cannot be accessed, power goes out, or work needs to happen/continue off-site.  All D2DInc staff have in the commercial division has a laptop so they can work remotely during inclement weather. They also have a PDA that has access to email and the Internet. We are definitely well connected, with redundancy of communications equipment in the event a laptop isn’t available or doesn’t have Internet access.
• Consider using a site such as Basecamp to share documents and create a repository for a proposal project. This is a good way to keep working after hours, work with staff and teaming partners at various locations, and keeps documents related to a proposal/project in one location. We love that documents can be accessed remotely and securely. We also use GoToMeeting for tel-/web-conferencing.
• Have multiple back-up plans. The time to make a back-up plan before there is a hint that one may be needed. If you wait you may not have time to react. In the case of the February blizzards we already had in place had multiple back-up plans to address things like power loss at the office or staff residences, main and/or secondary roads not being plowed, above-ground Metro stations not being opened, traffic, etc.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need additional information on contingency planning during the business development, proposal process and contract administration phases of government contracting.

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Top 4 HR Compliance Issues- Part II

Do it Yourself HR Audit- Top 4 HR Compliance Issues Revisited.

Today, let's talk: Harassment and Discriminationand the Fair Labor Standards Act – Exempt and Non-Exempt Classifications.

Harassment and discriminationcan be extremely damaging to a company’s operations and success.  Every company has the responsibility to ensure that their workplace is free from unlawful harassment and discrimination.  You must, at a minimum:

• Exercise reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any harassment or unlawful discriminatory behavior.  In today’s work environment harassment and discrimination is just flat out unacceptable and any sound company has zero tolerance for violators. 
• Have clear and effective policies that are legally compliant for each state that employees work in. 
• Provide annual training for employees and managers.  A good training program will be interactive and include a clear statement against harassment, protect employee’s rights and foster respect, define multiple avenues for employees to raise questions or file complaints and promote overall compliance and prevention by clearly defining responsibilities.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)guidelines for exempt and non-exempt employees are very important to comply with because unlike other statutes, FLSA violations are often not just concentrated on single employees but, are looked at from a class action standpoint.  Furthermore, Department of Labor investigations can go back as far as five years. 

FLSA regulations provide minimum standards for both wages and overtime entitlements and delineate administrative procedures by which covered worker time must be compensated.  Under the statute "any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity shall be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements.”

• Exempt employeesmust perform certain types of work, and they must generally be paid on a salary basis and receive a minimum salary.
  • To be exempt, employees must:
    • Generally be paid a predetermined amount each pay period. The amount paid may not be reduced because of a variation in the quality or quantity of the work performed.
  • The FLSA exempts broad categories of "white-collar" jobs from minimum wage and overtime requirements if they meet certain tests regarding job duties and responsibilities and are paid a certain minimum salary. These categories include:
    • Executives
    • Administrative employees
    • Professional employees
    • Outside and certain retail sales personnel
    • Highly compensated individuals. 
• Nonexempt employeesare those who are covered by the FLSA minimum wage and overtime pay provisions.
  • An employee who is paid on an hourly basis is usually considered to be nonexempt, regardless of the hourly rate paid.  
  • Employees are also nonexempt if they do not qualify for one of several "white-collar" exemptions.  
  • Employees generally classified as nonexempt include, but are not limited to:
    • Clerical
    • Blue-collar
    • Maintenance
    • Construction and semiskilled workers
    • Technicians and laborers

http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-flsa.htm

Bottom Line:  Do you have the correct policies and procedures in place to either keep you compliant or get you compliant based on the Department of Labor’s standards?

Written by: Patrick Hill, Executive Vice President

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Foster Thomasis the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading HR Management Consulting organization.  With over 17 years of experience providing best-in-class HR-focused professional services, Foster Thomas creates custom scalable HR solutions for emerging and mid-sized organizations, government contractors and non-profits

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