How is everyone’s workload being a 1099er for DCSA contract? Has anyone else experienced a change in how you obtain work? Such as CACI no longer allows us to pull our own work they now assign it to us like we are employees. It’s a nightmare.
Pretty sure the primes don’t have much work either. Slim pickings where I am.
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Cases worked by 1099s directly under the primes (ie a 1099 contracted directly to CACI or Peraton) count towards the quota so it’s incorrect to say that 30% of a prime company’s assigned work should be passed to a sub company like Brush Creek etc. And I think a decent chunk of at least one prime’s FIs are still 1099s.
I was told by the multiple contracting companies I 1099 for that it’s due to the end of fiscal year and budget renewals etc. There is ZERO DCSA work available for 1099s at both of the contracting companies I work for. In person, VTC/remote, TDYs…nothing available. They both stated to hang in there until October 1st which casework should ramp back up… so they say…
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I’ve heard from management that by October the workloads should increase. Especially with DHS.
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That’s exactly what’s happening.
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Expect work to continue to tail off for many months to come. Expect massive layoffs for hourly investigators from CACI and Peraton.
The work has to go to the Fed’s first, hourlies second, and then the IC’s will always be last. I expect a 50% decrease for the need of Investigators in general by the same time next year in 2026.
There simply won’t be a need for many Investigators with no periodic reinvestigations, a current workload, no unemployment corroboration or residence coverage, five years of coverage vs. 7 years, less interviews for issue resolution, etc. Long gone in the rear view mirror are the days of interviewing 12-15 people for an SSBI.
The only ones that will be able to survive as IC’s will be retired federal employees that have a federal pension or military retirement or an IC that has a spouse working.
The BI industry is dying and on life support and I don’t see a happy ending. I’m actively looking for full time employment elsewhere. I didn’t fail in the BI industry, the BI industry failed me due to all of the changes and how that’s negatively impacted the Investigator as a whole.
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Sounds pretty dismal
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It is and will only worsen over time.
You forgot to add that everything is being done vtc or phone which has also led to low work.
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The telephone and VTC goes without saying. That’s been going on since 2018 or 2019 when NBIB/DCSA introduced VTC for TESI’s and then COVID absolutely exacerbated the use of the Jerry Lewis telethon game. Everyone is burning through work now with no drive time now which means due to all of these factors I’ve mentioned, there will be a significant less need for Investigators and the volume of work we’ve had in the past.
Then combine that with DCSA indicating and putting language in the next solicitation for the contract that work will be conducted from call centers for sources and record interviews. Basically means all we will be doing is VTC’s for TESI’s. That will shrink the contractor workforce by 70%.
Another aspect with the call centers would be that DCSA could monitor the calls more closely. Less chance for an integrity concern on a case.
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We’re already doing almost everything by phone so official call centers could only be for more control, as you pointed out. Honestly I hope they do get call centers and let someone else call, call, call, leaving messages for people who don’t answer the phone or respond to voicemails. When sources don’t answer the phone, will they be writing off the coverage or sending it back to the field? My guess is sending it back to the field…so why do they need call centers—–to say that people don’t answer the phone and send it back to the field? PS Disclaimer this is just my opinion, I don’t need a keyboard wagging argument on how you KNOW people answer the phone because they ALWAYS answer for you…..Which this forum seems to have become a big argument about every opinion posted. If sources answer the phone for sure you need to be at a call center because you rock and you’re the one.
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I honestly wouldn’t mind call centers for employment records….i hate trying to track down a record from a Dunkin some kid worked at for two months 5 years ago or hassling some mom/pop shop to go dig through records in a storage unit.
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So much help for hire apparently yet my secret investigation is taking 4 months…. 
it seems DCSA has a lot of volume.
Getting worried with the lack of work. Any long-timer Investigators out there offer any words of encouragement “that this too shall pass” and work will return.
I’ve never seen it this slow in decades on the contract, however I’m now 1099 but still never this slow. If I were younger and needed this job I would be concerned and looking for another vocation. Full-timers are the real barometer. If you see layoffs of full-timers, especially the two main companies, then it’s bad. Layoffs with sub contract full-time companies would probably happen before the 2 primes so that’s the first hint. I would be asking if anyone’s heard of layoffs with the full-timers.
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I’ve been a full time employee for over a decade and the workload is similar to that first year of Covid. I’m starting to get slightly worried.
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Pendulum always swings back and forth for 1099rs. We were slower in my area when COVID first started and also when CE all but eliminated T5Rs. I believe we will see a bump in work a few weeks into the new fiscal year. Then the pendulum will swing back and it will be slow again during the holidays and first couple weeks of 2026. My bigger concern is what the impact will be when TW 2.0 is fully implemented.
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Powers that be said there is no backlog for the 1st time in 13 years.