Interpreting Services Contract

Contractor Responsibilities & Conditions
• Contactor will adhere to and comply with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Code of Professional Conduct and/or the Quality Assurance Screening Test (QAST) Code of Professional Conduct. Contractor non-compliance may result in termination of contract as decided in the sole discretion of the Agency. Breaches may also be reported to appropriate overseers, such as RID, QAST, Dept. of Education, etc.
• Contractor will dress appropriately for assignments and be prepared for extreme conditions at the workplace. If required by the workplace, steel-toed shoes, personal protective equipment, etc. may be needed. This will be noted as appropriate in the interpreter scheduling system. If Contractor cannot accommodate such requests, Contractor is responsible for informing the Agency immediately.
• Contractor must maintain certification with the issuing body by remaining in good standing and completing the minimum number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Copy of current certification must be attached. At times, Agency will review information online to verify status with RID or QAST.
• Once an assignment has been accepted, Contractor is responsible for attending the appointment/assignment in a timely manner. Contractors should not return assignments to the Agency with less than 48-hour notice except in the event of unforeseen emergencies.
• IF an assignment is given back by Contractor for any reason at any time, Contractor MUST notify the Agency immediately of the newly open assignment.
• IF assignments are given back frequently, Agency will visit with Contractor about ethical responsibilities and seek to identify an agreeable solution.
• Contractor understands that on-time arrival for an assignment is no fewer than 10 minutes before the start of assignment. If the Contractor has back-to-back assignments that make arrival 10 minutes before an assignment impossible, Agency will inform the client(s) that Contractor will be arriving from another appointment.
• If it appears an assignment will not be completed before the scheduled end time, Contractor should inform the Agency as soon as possible of the approximate time adjustment enabling the Agency time to adjust accordingly.
• In the event of force majeure (e.g., natural disasters, infrastructure failure, government/societal unrest, etc.), Contractor will contact the Agency to learn if the assignment is still scheduled. If an assignment is canceled with less than 24-hours notice due to force majeure, Agency WILL NOT pay the Contractor. If Contractor does not contact the Agency and does not show up for the assignment and the assignment HAS NOT been canceled, Contractor will not be paid for the assignment or any part thereof. If Contractor does not contact the Agency and does show up for the assignment and the appointment has been canceled, Contractor WILL NOT be paid for the assignment or any part thereof.
• To ensure the Agency’s Finance Department can submit payment in a timely manner, Contractor will submit invoices within 3 days of completing the assignment or by the billing close date, whichever is sooner.
• The Agency WILL NOT pay for invoices not received by Contractor prior to close of the pay period.
• Once Agency has sent notice of Invoice Summary to Contractor in preparation for the billing period, Contractor is responsible for notifying the Agency by email before the noted deadline for any needed adjustments. If the noted deadline is missed, the Agency WILL NOT be able to modify the invoices as they have already been billed to the client.
• Current closing dates for billing are the 6th and 21st of each month.
• Pay days are the 15th and last day of each month.
• Invoices must be submitted through the Agency’s interpreter scheduling system as
directed by Agency staff. Paper invoices will not and cannot be accepted. Invoices must:

o Include “Actual Start Time” & “Actual End Time” adjusted/Portal-to-Portal
included if applicable.
o Include mileage (if Portal-to-Portal Fee is agreed upon by the business).
o Include Tolls and/or Parking Costs.
o Be closed and submitted to Agency prior to the billing closing date.

• The Agency cannot and will not guarantee a certain number of assignments to Contractor at any time.
• Requests for a specific Contractor will be honored as best as possible. In such cases,
Contractor will be notified and given time to respond. If no response is given as to availability, the assignment will be sent to other qualified contractors.
• Contractor is responsible for keeping accurate records and paying his/her/their own taxes (e.g., federal, state, self- employment, etc.).
• Contractor and Agency can terminate this contract at any time for any reason.
• Contractor is responsible for his/her/their interpreting practices. If the Agency receives complaints about Contractor’s work and/or Contractor is found to be negligent, in the sole discretion of the Agency, Contractor may not be reassigned to the client/customer making the complaint and/or the contract may be terminated.
• If Agency is sued as a result of Contractor, Contractor will hold the Agency harmless and indemnify the Agency. Contractor will be responsible for any and all costs associated with such an event whether on behalf of the Agency or oneself. In the event the Agency is required to pay damages, Contractor will be responsible for paying any and all damages, including any fees associated with such damages, in a manner that does not inflict financial hardship on the Agency.
• Contractor will be required to have an Agency Identification Badge made and to carry it at all times when on an Agency assignment. Contractor will come to the Agency to obtain such badge and will not charge the Agency for time or mileage associated with fulfilling this requirement.
• Assignment settings may have special requirements set by the requesting client. If the contractor cannot meet the specials requirements, Contractor will not accept the assignment and will inform the Agency of special requirements that cannot be met as appropriate and necessary. Such special requirements may include the following:

o Obtain/present a flu vaccine, measles vaccine, COVID vaccine, etc.
o Clean background check.
o Passport, birth certificate, driver’s license, social security card, etc.

• If Contractor works education for any reason (i.e., Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, parent-teacher conferences, graduations, etc.), documentation must be provided of registration with the Oklahoma Educational Registry.
• If Contractor cannot do an assignment, he/she/they MUST notify the Agency.
• Contractor CANNOT subcontract with anyone to do an assignment on his/her/their behalf. Noncompliance will be grounds for immediate termination of contract.
• Contractor shall indemnify and hold the Agency harmless from any loss or liability arising from performing services under this Contract.
• Contractor agrees to NOT solicit customers and/or clients to another interpreting agency and/or to work directly with the Agency’s customers and/or clients.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
1. State and Federal Taxes:
Agency WILL NOT:
• Withhold FICA (Social Security and Medicare taxes) from Contractor’s payments nor make FICA payments on Contractor’s behalf.
• Make state or federal unemployment compensation contributions on Contractor’s behalf.
• Withhold or pay state or federal income tax on Contractor’s behalf. Contractor shall pay all taxes incurred while performing services under this contract – including all applicable income taxes and, if Contractor is not a corporation, self-employment (Social Security) taxes.
2. Fringe Benefits: Contractor understands that he/she/they is NOT eligible for any Agency benefits offered to qualifying staff, including pension, health benefits, vacation pay, sick pay, or any other fringe benefit of the Agency.
3. Unemployment Compensation: Agency shall make no state or federal
unemployment compensation payments on behalf of Contractor. Contractor
shall NOT be entitled to these benefits in connection with work performed under this contract.
4. Workers’ Compensation: Agency shall not obtain workers’ compensation insurance on behalf of Contractor. Contractor WILL NOT be covered by any workers’ compensation insurance for injuries associated with work as a Contractor.
5. Insurance: Agency shall NOT provide insurance coverage of any kind for Contractor. Contractor is responsible for obtaining and maintaining insurance coverage independent from Agency, including malpractice, health, worker’s compensation, unemployment and/or any other desired insurance.

I have read, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions of this contract. I understand that I am an independent contractor providing services on behalf of the Agency’s Interpreting Services Department.

Addendum 1 – Portal-to-Portal Fee:
If Contractor has an assignment that is 50 or more miles away (one way) from his/her/their home, Contractor can add a Portal-to-Portal Fee to his/her/their invoice. This addition should be added to the “Start” and “End” time of the invoice.
Examples:
• Example 1: Contractor has an assignment from 4:00pm – 6:00pm and this includes one hour of portal time. Contractor leaves for the assignment at 3:00pm, begins assignment at 4:00pm, completes assignment at 5:00pm and returns home at 6:00pm. In this case, Contractor would bill 3:00pm – 5:00pm at the regular rate and 5:00pm – 6:00pm at the after-hours rate. Contractor would not charge an additional hour of Portal Fee since the assignment did not take the full two-hour minimum.
• Example 2: Contractor has an assignment from 12:00pm – 3:00pm with one-hour of Portal-to-Portal time. Contractor leaves for the assignment at 11am, works the assignment from 12:00pm – 3:00pm, and arrives home at 4:00pm. Contractor would bill 11:00am – 4:00pm at the regular rate.
• Example 3: Contractor is on a legal assignment from 9:00am – 11:00am with one-hour of Portal-to-Portal. Contractor leaves for the assignment at 8:00am, begins the assignment 9:00am, completes the assignment at 11:00am and returns home at noon. Contractor would charge the two hours of portal time at the regular rate and the two hours of the assignments at the legal rate. If the assignment ended at 9:30am, Contractor would get one hour at regular rate for portal time and two hours at legal rate for the 2-hour booked
minimum.

If Contractor’s assignment is before 8:00am or Contractor arrives home after 5:00pm, those after-hours will be billed at the after-hours rate manually by the Agency.

Contractors will always receive the Portal Fee to the assignment but are not guaranteed the Portal Fee leaving the assignment. The ending time of the appointment will determine if the
contractor receives the Portal Fee and, if so, how much.

Depending on the drive time (e.g., 1, 2, or 3+ hours), Contractor will adjust his/her/their start time accordingly. If the Contractor’s drive home falls in the 2-hour assignment minimum, Contractor will not be reimbursed an additional Portal Fee. (See Example 1 above.)

If Contractor is leaving from a location other than his/her/their home and the location is farther away than his/her/their home, Contractor must inform the Agency for pre-approval.

Addendum 2: Booked Time
Booked Time is designed to eliminate any disputed charges for same-day cancellations protecting payment to
both the Contractor and the Agency.

When assignments are given that are outside of the Contractor’s area, the Interpreting Services team will book these jobs with a “Booked Time.” The job will have a special category (example:
Medical – BOOKED TIME). This will let you know in advance when a job is or is not considered “Booked Time.” If you have a job that does not have the special category, it follows the Agency’s standard same-day cancellation policy, as outlined in the Interpreting Services Contract, which has been approved for the 2-hour minimum.

If a job is called in that will clearly require a Portal Fee, the Agency will schedule with the requesting office the full amount of time estimated for that job. The “Booked Time” will already include the portal to and from the assignment. The client requesting services must approve of
the booked time block before the Contractor will be assigned.

Example:
• Example 1: An assignment is created for a noon appointment with a 2-hour portal to and from the appointment. While the client is unsure of how long the appointment will take, the Booked Time is 10:00am – 4:00pm, which equates to two hours of travel to the appointment, a two-hour minimum appointment, and a two-hour return trip. If the appointment does not take the full two hours, the return Portal Fee will be adjusted as noted in Addendum 1.
• Example 2: An assignment is created for an 8:00am appointment with a two-hour portal to and from the appointment. The Booked Time is 6:00am – 11:00am, which equated to two hours of travel time, one hour for the appointment and two hours of travel time.

The Agency will make notes of the requested time, including travel time and assignment time. Once both parties agree to the “Booked Time,” the Contractor will be assigned.

If an assignment runs long, Contractor will call or text the Agency to advise them of the change as soon as possible. If the Agency does not have notes about extra charges, those changes will not be applied to the invoice.

When looking at available assignments, a Contractor should contact the Agency if he/she/they notice an assignment that would be Portal Job for which he/she/they is available. The Agency can contact the client to arrange a Booked Time assignment if they are in agreement. Again, if the assignment becomes a same-day cancellation, Contractor would be paid for the Booked Time.

Please click the links below to print out necessary forms and email them to interpretingservices@tulsacenter.org.

Interpreter Blank W-9 copy.pdf