State Finance Law requires:
- that the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) include in the Consulting Services Report it compiles annually on contracts issued by state agencies for consulting services during the previous fiscal year, certain additional information on employees providing services under such contracts;
- that contractors annually report certain employment information to the contracting agency, the Department of Civil Service (DCS) and OSC; and,
- that OSC include such employment information in the Procurement Stewardship Act Report it compiles annually.1
Process and Document Preparation:
STATE CONTRACTORS EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
State contractors are required to disclose, by employment category, the number of persons employed to provide services under a contract for consulting services, the number of hours worked and the amount paid to the contractor by the State as compensation for work performed by these employees. This includes information on any persons working under any subcontracts with the state contractor.
CONTRACTS FOR CONSULTING SERVICE
The definition of contracts for consulting services includes any contract entered into by a state agency for analysis, evaluation, research, training, data processing, computer programming, engineering, environmental, health, and mental health services, accounting, auditing, paralegal, legal, or similar services.
REPORT REQUIREMENTS
State Finance Law requires that OSC report to the Legislature on contracts for consulting services that were issued by state agencies during the previous fiscal year. OSC is required to include in the Consulting Services Report the employment information described above.
To enable compliance with the law, state agencies must include the New York State Consultant Services Contractor's Planned Employment form (AC 3271-S) in the procurement record submitted to OSC for new consultant contracts. The completed form must include information for all employees providing service under the contract, whether employed by the contractor or a subcontractor. Please note that the form captures the necessary planned employment information prospectively from the start date of the contract through the end of the contract term.
In order to provide notice to potential contractors that the contractor selected may be required to complete the form, state agencies may incorporate the Form A into new solicitations for consulting services.
It is important to note that regardless of a contract's payment methodology (for example, deliverable based payment or lump sum payments), an agency must structure the procurement/contract to be able to ascertain and report the required data.
Submission of a completed Form A is required for OSC approval of new contracts for consulting services, except in extraordinary circumstances as determined at the sole discretion of OSC.
ANNUAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS
State agencies must require state contractors to report annually on the employment information described above, including work performed by subcontractors. The annual employment reports are to be submitted by the contractor to the contracting agency, to OSC and to DCS. OSC must include the employment information in the Procurement Stewardship Act Report. State Finance Law § 163 (subd 14) requires that OSC annually report to the State Procurement Council, the Governor and the Legislature on active and planned employment under consultant contracts subject to OSC approval.
State Consultant Services Contractor's Annual Employment Report (AC 3272-S) is to be used to report the information. Please note that, in contrast to the information to be included on Form A, which is a one-time report of planned employment data for the entire term of a consulting contract on a projected basis, Form B is required to be submitted each year the contract is in effect and is intended to capture historical information, detailing actual employment data for the most recently concluded State fiscal year (April 1st - March 31st).
To enable compliance with the law, state agencies must incorporate the annual reporting requirement and the Form B template into new solicitations for consulting services to provide notice to potential contractors that the contractor selected will be required to submit the form annually. Furthermore, incorporation of the requirement for Form B to be submitted annually by the contractor is a requirement for OSC approval of new contracts for consulting services, including those contracts resulting from mini-bids, except in extraordinary circumstances as determined in the sole discretion of OSC. Since the annual reporting requirement is contained in Appendix A - Standard Clauses for All New York State Contracts as of November 2010, compliance with this requirement may be satisfied by incorporating the latest version of Appendix A into the contract.
The State Consultant Services Contractor's Annual Employment Reports will be due no later than May 15th of each year.
SUMMARY
RFPs and other solicitations for consulting services should include notice of these reporting requirements. The procurement record for new contracts for consulting services received by OSC for approval must include, upon submission of the contract for approval, a completed Form A. New contracts for consulting services, including those contracts resulting from mini-bids, must include a requirement that Form B be submitted annually by the contractor to the contracting agency, DCS and OSC.
COMPLETING THE FORMS
Form A and Form B should be completed for contracts for consulting services in accordance with the following:
- Scope of Contract (Form B only): a general classification of the single category that best fits the predominate nature of the services provided under the contract.
- Employment Category: the specific occupation(s), as listed in the O*NET occupational classification system, which best describe the employees providing services under the contract.(Note: Access the O*NET database, which is available through the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, on-line at https://www.onetonline.org to find a list of occupations.)
- Number of Employees: the total number of employees in the employment category employed to provide services under the contract during the report period, including part time employees and employees of subcontractors.
- Number of hours (to be) worked: for Form A, the total number of hours to be worked, and for Form B, the total number of hours worked during the report period by the employees in the employment category.
- Amount Payable under the Contract: the total amount paid or payable by the State to the state contractor under the contract, for work by the employees in the employment category, and for services provided during the report period.
To facilitate annual reporting by contractors, it is recommended that the contracting entity make available to the contractor a version of Form B with the Agency Name, Business Unit, and Department ID fields completed.
Reports may be submitted to OSC by either method listed below:
By email (preferred method):
Please send a signed, scanned copy to [email protected] with “Consultant Disclosure Form B” in the subject line
or
By mail:
NYS Office of the State Comptroller
Bureau of Contracts
110 State Street, 11th Floor
Albany, NY 12236
Attn: Consultant Reporting
Reports may be submitted to DCS by either method listed below:
By email (preferred method):
Please send a signed, scanned copy to [email protected] with “Consultant Disclosure Form B” in the subject line
or
By mail:
NYS Department of Civil Service
Alfred E. Smith Office Building
Albany, NY 12239
Attn: Executive Office
______________________________________________
1In addition, Civil Service Law § 97 requires the DCS to publish an annual report summarizing the number of contract employees performing consulting services and the types of services provided by such contract employees. State Finance Law § 22 mandates that the Governor include in the Executive Budget certain information based on the State Contractor's Annual Employment Reports.
Guide to Financial Operations
REV. 04/16/2024