DRAFT Announcement of Opportunity (AO) -- 2025 Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX)

HEALTH & WELFARE: $5.55 per hour, up to 40 hours per week, or $222.00 per week or $962.00 per month HEALTH & WELFARE EO 13706: $5.09 per hour, up to 40 hours per week, or $203.60 per week, or $882.27 per month* *This rate is to be used only when compensating employees for performance on an SCA- covered contract also covered by EO 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors. A contractor may not receive credit toward its SCA obligations for any paid sick leave provided pursuant to EO 13706. | VACATION: 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year of service with a contractor or successor, 3 weeks after 5 years, and 4 weeks after 15 years. Length of service includes the whole span of continuous service with the present contractor or successor, wherever employed, and with the predecessor contractors in the performance of similar work at the same Federal facility. (Reg. 29 CFR 4.173) | HOLIDAYS: A minimum of eleven paid holidays per year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. (A contractor may substitute for any of the named holidays another day off with pay in accordance with a plan communicated to the employees involved.) (See 29 CFR 4.174) ** UNIFORM ALLOWANCE ** If employees are required to wear uniforms in the performance of this contract (either by the terms of the Government contract, by the employer, by the state or local law, etc.), the cost of furnishing such uniforms and maintaining (by laundering or dry cleaning) such uniforms is an expense that may not be borne by an employee where such cost reduces the hourly rate below that required by the wage determination. The Department of Labor will accept payment in accordance with the following standards as compliance: The contractor or subcontractor is required to furnish all employees with an adequate number of uniforms without cost or to reimburse employees for the actual cost of the uniforms. In addition, where uniform cleaning and maintenance is made the responsibility of the employee, all contractors and subcontractors subject to this wage determination shall (in the absence of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement providing for a different amount, or the furnishing of contrary affirmative proof as to the actual cost), reimburse all employees for such cleaning and maintenance at a rate of $3.35 per week (or $.67 cents per day). However, in those instances where the uniforms furnished are made of ""wash and wear"" materials, may be routinely washed and dried with other personal garments, and do not require any special treatment such as dry cleaning, daily washing, or commercial laundering in order to meet the cleanliness or appearance standards set by the terms of the Government contract, by the contractor, by law, or by the nature of the work, there is no requirement that employees be reimbursed for uniform maintenance costs. ** SERVICE CONTRACT ACT DIRECTORY OF OCCUPATIONS ** The duties of employees under job titles listed are those described in the ""Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations"", Fifth Edition (Revision 1), dated September 2015, unless otherwise indicated. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND WAGE RATE Standard Form 1444 (SF-1444) Conformance Process: The contracting officer shall require that any class of service employee which is not listed herein and which is to be employed under the contract (i.e., the work to be performed is not performed by any classification listed in the wage determination), be classified by the contractor so as to provide a reasonable relationship (i.e., appropriate level of skill comparison) between such unlisted classifications and the classifications listed in the wage determination. Such conformed classes of employees shall be paid the monetary wages and furnished the fringe benefits as are determined (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(i)). Such conforming procedures shall be initiated by the contractor prior to the performance of contract work by such unlisted class(es) of employees (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(ii)). The Wage and Hour Division shall make a final determination of conformed classification, wage rate, and/or fringe benefits which shall be retroactive to the commencement date of the contract (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(iv)(C)(vi)). When multiple wage determinations are included in a contract, a separate SF-1444 should be prepared for each wage determination to which a class(es) is to be conformed. The process for preparing a conformance request is as follows: 1) When preparing the bid, the contractor identifies the need for a conformed occupation(s) and computes a proposed rate(s). 2) After contract award, the contractor prepares a written report listing in order the proposed classification title(s), a Federal grade equivalency (FGE) for each proposed classification(s), job description(s), and rationale for proposed wage rate(s), including information regarding the agreement or disagreement of the authorized representative of the employees involved, or where there is no authorized representative, the employees themselves. This report should be submitted to the contracting officer no later than 30 days after such unlisted class(es) of employees performs any contract work. 3) The contracting officer reviews the proposed action and promptly submits a report of the action, together with the agency's recommendations and pertinent information including the position of the contractor and the employees, to the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, for review (See 29 CFR 4.6(b)(2)(ii)). 4) Within 30 days of receipt, the Wage and Hour Division approves, modifies, or disapproves the action via transmittal to the agency contracting officer, or notifies the contracting officer that additional time will be required to process the request. 5) The contracting officer transmits the Wage and Hour decision to the contractor. 6) The contractor informs the affected employees. Information required by the Regulations must be submitted on SF-1444 or bond paper. When preparing a conformance request, the ""Service Contract Act Directory of Occupations"" (the Directory) should be used to compare job definitions to ensure that duties requested are not performed by a classification already listed in the wage determination. Remember, it is not the job title, but the required tasks that determine whether a class is included in an established wage determination. Conformances may not be used to artificially split, combine, or subdivide classifications listed in the wage determination.