Requests for Equitable Adjustment Documentation

 Submitting your documentation of Requests for Equitable Adjustment (REA) also means having understanding of the statutory requirements. This can be critical to getting an approval from the federal government and getting paid.

There is an enormous amount of information that should be included to validate your request. Failure to submit a legally sufficient request for equitable adjustment can delay the payment process and even impact any schedules of delays in the contract.

Important Language for Documentation of Requests for Equitable Adjustment 

Under 48 CFR 1352.271-85 – Documentation of requests for equitable adjustment, the following statutory summaries lays out the specific requirements for submitting your REA.

Whenever the contractor requests or proposes an equitable adjustment to the contract price for a change or an act or omission on the part of the Government, the request shall include a breakdown of the price adjustment under FAR Part 16 in such form and supported by such reasonable detail as the Contracting Officer may request. As a minimum, the contractor shall provide a breakdown of direct labor hours, labor dollars, overhead, material, subcontracts, contingencies and profit for each change and a justification for any extension of the delivery date.

(c) Whenever the contractor requests or proposes an equitable adjustment of $100,000 or greater gross (aggregate increases and/or decreases) for a change made pursuant to a written order designated as a “change order,” or whenever the contractor requests an equitable adjustment in any amount for any other act or omission to act on the part of the Government, documentation of Requests for Equitable Adjustment should include:

• A description of the unperformed work required by the contract before the change which has been deleted by the change and the work deleted by the change that already has been completed in whole or in part. The description shall include a list of components, equipment, and other identifiable property involved. Also, the status of manufacture, procurement, or installation of such property shall be indicated. A separate description shall be furnished for design and production work. Items of raw material, purchased parts, components, and other identifiable hardware which are made excess by the change, and which are not to be retained by the contractor, are to be listed for later disposition;
• Documentation of Requests for Equitable Adjustment should include a description of the work necessary to undo work already completed which has been deleted by the change;
• A description of the work substituted or added by the change that was not required by the terms of the contract before the change. A list of components and equipment (not bulk material or items) involved should be included. A separate description shall be furnished for design work and production work, and
• A description of any interference or inefficiency encountered in performing the change.

Your documentation of FAR Equitable Adjustments should also include a narrative statement of the direct causal relationship between any alleged Government act or omission and the claimed result, cross-referenced to the detailed information required above.

Lack of Documentation Causes Unnecessary Delays

When you fall short of submitting sufficient documentation of Requests for Equitable Adjustment or claims, the agency can take advantage of this fact and delay payment or modifying the contract. Without the support your team needs, your company can also suffer because essential revenues are now delayed.

For help with your Requests for Equitable Adjustment documentation, contact our REA lawyers at 1-866-601-5518. FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.