Discussing the major OPM contractors like USIS, Keypoint, and CACI. See forum rules.
Okay play nice guys. How many of you have lost team members and if so what company did they go to? Me personally I have lost 5 out of 13 all to CACI. The reason why is because we spoke to a KGS investigator and she told us that the company was slowly becoming USIS. Comments Please.
Can we discuss where we are located? That would be helpful.
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@dumpthekoolaid, don’t think we can because others are also following the same threads.
@double07, i think it’s when other folks start accusing other folks is when the threads get shut down. Too bad some folks are stinking it up for the rest of us.
I too have heard folks going to CACI but also Keypoint. Not sure number count. Sounds like Keypoint throwing more money but counter argument is CACI takes better of their people. I’ve got an offer on both so not sure which way to go.
USIS news today…Myth Rebuttal. Google and/or see USIS.com website.
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USIS should have said it months ago but it does not address our concerns about our furlough or when/if we go back to work.
I have tentatively accepted a position with Key Point. One thing to keep in mind, if you receive a verbal offer from KPGS, your offer will include the cost of your benefits. I hope that I am not insulting anyone’s intelligence, just want to make sure everyone is informed. Even taking that into account, the offer from KPGS was substantially more than I was making with USIS. While I will miss the company car, the .56 per mile paid by KPGS is more than enough to justify the purchase of a new car. Admittedly, I am nervous about the change but I feel as though I have no other choice at this point.
ninjaturtle: What do you mean when you say that CACI takes better care of their employees? Can you elaborate? I’ve worked with a lot of CACI people internationally but not stateside. I’ve really not heard anything negative about either company but I’m curious as to your opinion. Regardless, no employer is perfect and I’m certainly not perfect so I guess it is what it is.
I’ve been loyal for 7 years and am hanging on simply because I had decent leave and a retirement pension. I have been pro Usis for so long but I’m about to throw in the towel. I’m in a pretty big/“important” geographical area and my TL and another long term TL just went to CACI.
The media release is a JOKE. Too late. You know it’s just bc people are leaving in droves.
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when you say the offer from Keypoint, includes the cost of your benefits are you saying the 3.81 H&W fringe benefit is not included in the offer separately from the base salary?
The $ 3.81 fringe benefit cannot be included in the salary. The H&W benefit is supposed to be used for benefits only and not to be included in the salary. This was already discussed at great length from the thread that was taken down others and reginv explained this accurately.
I guess I don’t understand my offer from CACI. I have a base salary plus 3.81 an hour in health fringe benefits. Do I actually get paid for the $3.81 an hour or is it just for effect or show? I mean I was verbally quoted a yearly salary but on my offer letter it just lists a base hourly wage plus $3.81 an hour health fringe benefit. Also I need to accept or reject this offer by cob Wednesday and I really would like to get an offer from Keypoint for comparison, hopefully I am able to get in touch with a recruiter tomorrow and get an offer on the table.
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i have been loyal to usis for 9 years but I have to have a job to support my family. This media post by usis is definitely a result of valuable employees leaving. I wouldn’t be surprised if usis loses majority of its high performers.
deedisdone81, I must have missed that thread. Here’s basically what happened to me; I was offered $65K to start. When I received my official offer letter I was told my hourly salary was $31.25 which includes the H&W of $3.81 per hour. So, if I am understanding this correctly, that means my actually salary offer is around $57K. Am I not understanding this correctly?
Okay I received an offer from both companies and accepted the CACI offer. The CACI offer was listed as salary per hour + H&W = Total Salary, the Keypoint offer was just salary per hour. When I asked the recruiter was the H&W included in the salary she could not answer as she is not a Keypoint employee but works for a staffing firm, Triworth. So after some questioning of some friends at Keypoint I was told that the H&W is included in the hourly pay similar to the way USIS does. I am in no way an H&W expert just relaying what I was told.
CACI gave me this formula: salary per hour X 2088 = total salary (do not include the H&W as part of your salary, because it will decrease based on the benefits you select).
@deed
Check your offer letter on the date you need to respond. In mine, they initially ask for a response by 9/10, also; however, in the last paragraph, it says the offer will be open until the close of business October 1. Like you, I am also waiting on KPGS to complete a verbal and written offer.
So if I’m planning on taking health insurance for me plus family and dental would I get the 3.81, I was told yes based on those selections from the recruiter with CACI. So base with 3.81 an hour times 2088 hours equals exactly what the written offer I have. Also my offer says it will be open until close of business 9/10/2014. Yours says October 1st?
I am going to do my best in explaining the H&W Fringe benefit payment. Please refer to the below website that gives some important information which includes a statement on the U.S. Dept of Labor-Wage and Hour Division website. The question and answer is as follows:
Is the health and welfare rate included in the hourly rate on the Wage Determination (WD)? No. Fringe benefits are required to be provided separate from and in addition to the specified minimum hourly rate provided on the wage determination.
I’m no Wage and Hour employee or Investigator but I understand that the H&W fringe benefit payment should not be included in someone’s salary because the H&W fringe benefit is to be used only for bonafide benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and benefits offered by the company.
I do not know if SCA fringe benefit payments amounts can be used by the employer to pay for the 401K match, PTO, sick leave, etc as USIS has been doing to their employees along with medical, dental, vision, etc since 01/2014 as USIS explained in open enrollment in 11/2013. I believe and I have read somewhere that PTO and sick leave cannot be used by a company or organization to deduct from the required $3.81 (now $4.02 since 07/22/2014 due to the increased costs of the affordable care act that was passed a few years ago). I’m also not sure why in offer letters the H&W isn’t being shown as $4.02 currently. Makes no sense to me since this law has been passed and is in effect since 07/22/2014.
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So here’s the bottom line and what I have understand.
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USIS does not include the H&W fringe benefit rate in your current base hourly rate on your pay stub.
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When CACI makes an offer, they separate and show both your base salary and the fringe benefit rate. CACI will deduct the $3.81 from your hourly base rate and say they are matching your salary when in effect they are actually offering you a $3.81 pay cut from your base salary. Employees that leave USIS to go to CACI will more than likely notice this when they receive their first pay check from CACI that their bi-weekly salary will be a lesser amount.
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From what I have read on this forum and blog, when Keypoint gives the offer, they include the fringe benefit payment of $3.81 in your base salary to reach the total salary that they are offering. I’m not sure if they separate the $3.81 from your hourly base rate on a pay stub as I am not a Keypoint employee. So scforum223 is correct in saying his base rate is around 57K from Keypoint and he is getting the extra $3.81/hour fringe benefit rate to equal the $31.25 hourly rate that Keypoint is offering which equals to $65,000 if this is how the offer is stated.
Summary:
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If I am understanding this law correctly about the H&W fringe benefit rate…the H&W is to be used only for the employee to used for benefits. $3.81 X 160 hours in a given month equals $609.60 that USIS, CACI, and KGS are required to pay in benefits to the employee. If an employee elects more than this required amount, then the amount comes out of payroll deductions. If an employee selects less than the required amount, then the employer has to pay the employee the surplus one of two ways: Either through a quarterly payment through a 401K or other means (not sure of the other means) or directly into their bi-weekly rate and pay. CACI pays into their bi-weekly hourly rate for a surplus. USIS pays a 401K surplus amount on a quarterly basis since last fall/2013. I have no idea how Keypoint repays the employee their monies of the surplus H&W if benefits are not selected. Perhaps a current employee of Keypoint can enlighten us.
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This is a confusing topic as people are accepting offers including myself in the process. From my research and conversations with others, USIS does not include the H&W fringe benefit payment in your salary. CACI does “try” to include the H&W fringe benefit into your salary to act as if this is a match of your salary when in fact it is not. I’m not familiar as much with how Keypoint does this other than what I have heard from others in previous comments on previous threads and scforum223’s comments tonight.
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The fact of the matter (prove me if I’m wrong) is that USIS, Keypoint, and CACI should be showing the hourly base rate separately on our pay stubs from the H&W. I believe the Dept. of Labor made this clear in the below website. If they are not, then this to me doesn’t seem to be right. However, because I have only known personally about the H&W since 11/2013 when USIS explained this in open enrollment, by no means am I an expert whatsoever.
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I’m open to anyone whom can enlighten me further as things are still pretty murky for myself also.
Deedisdone
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Here is what I recommend it worked for me and some coworkers. If your interested in CACI tell them they will have to match your current hourly salary at USIS dollar for dollar. If they attempt to match your hourly rate by including the H&W benefit you may actually be taking a pay cut. It may take awhile for them to come back with an answer but I have personally seen this work with myself and two other coworkers.
Everyone,
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Please remember you want to go by the base rate you are making at USIS compared to the base rate you are being offered by Keypoint and CACI.
Completely take the $3.81 Fringe benefit payment out of your salary. This should not be included in the offer to make you feel like your offer is being matched and unfortunately it sounds like these companies are doing just that. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Your base rate should be matched if either company is saying that they are matching your salary. The $3.81 is a required H&W benefit that contractor companies are required to pay outside of the salary they are offering you. Your salary is not being matched when your base rate is $3.81 less than the hourly rate you currently make at USIS. It’s simple math. If your base rate is $25.00 and they deduct $3.81 to give you a $21.19 base rate then you just took a significant pay cut especially if you are selecting benefits. You still may have a little bit of a surplus that CACI puts back in your salary if you elect less than the $600.00 that you have each month to spend on your benefits. Same math applies to Keypoint. If you are being offered like scforum223 indicated of a $65,000 salary and they say that your $3.81 is included in that salary, then your actual base rate would only be $27.44 (31.25-$3.81 equals $27.44). If your base rate is more than $27.44 at USIS then you just took a pay cut. Now I do understand that CACI and Keypoint have much more affordable and better medical plans that they are offering (dental seems about the same), however, it doesn’t seem right to me how these companies are offering salaries. I think there may be some disappointed ex USIS employees when they see what their actual salaries are going to be and that it wasn’t quite a match like they expected when their paystub is a couple hundred dollars or so less than what they were making with USIS.
“Every service employee performing any of the Government contract work under at service contract in excess of $2,500 (this would include Keypoint, USIS, and CACI whom are making millions on the contract) must be paid not less than the monetary wages, and must be furnished fringe benefits.”–Dept of Labor website.
Don’t get too bogged down and confused. I know we are all desperate for a job and need or want to get back to work. Ask questions and negotiate if you feel like you can. That’s why they call it a business deal and business decision. The more educated you are, the more clout you have when you ask questions, explain your stance, and ask for matches of at least your base rate.
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I know these companies have the leverage on us…but be smart and educate yourself.
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joe hackett
Thank you so much for your detailed explanation. I have never looked into the HW benefits before. I wasn’t in on any of the open enrollments because I did not choose USIS benefits. I have received quarterly deposits into my 401K, but this seems to only have occurred since the beginning of 2013. My concern is that this should have been happening all along, but USIS just began complying in the beginning of 2013. I have been with USIS 10+ years, and there was never a mention of SCA or HW benefits until the past couple of years. Maybe it should be something we should look into.
I finally think this website and forum for investigators was taking off and doing what it was designed to do with the number of comments made and there was good insight brought to the investigator position. It has been incredibly awesome and I mean awesome to be able to collaborate with other investigators whom have knowledge, experience , and insight about other companies and the security clearance industry as a whole. There is no other website that exists that I have found on the World Wide Web that allows investigators to come together and share their frustrations and feelings. I feel that there were a Few that were pushing the limits but it wasn’t offensive or mean spirited and not once did I see any PII divulged. I respect the rules and i understand the reason for having them but I hope it doesn’t take away from others being able to post how they feel and expressing opinions. I feel that we may have lost some good posters by taking down the last two threads. Within those two threads were great insights and information. I understand if they are closed but they should be available in an archive at least to reference as many important topics were discussed.
Moderators—Is there any way that the prior threads can be put back on the website?
Hi all, sorry to jump off the H&W topic but has any heard of anything about why we are not back to work yet? Other then what was posted on the USIS website, is there any other rumors or information out there as to if or when we will be back to work?
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thx all