Susan is a subcontract administrator (i.e. agent) for a large government contrac
ID: 458215 • Letter: S
Question
Susan is a subcontract administrator (i.e. agent) for a large government contractor. She is the appointed agent given delegated authority (fully disclosed) to oversee service agreements and modify them – with consent provided by the vendor in writing – when necessary. Susan puts in her two weeks’ notice and moves away due to a family emergency, no longer employed by the large contracting firm. However, the period of performance is still valid for the agreement she signed for with the vendor, and they continue to invoice monthly as usual. Susan’s boss neglected to realize that there is an existing agreement in Susan’s name and, he/she only realizes it after the vendor calls the contracting firm, complaining about several outstanding monthly payments. What is the plan of action in this scenario?
Explanation / Answer
In this case there has been a:
Negligence shown by Susan’s boss in informing the Vendor about the exit of Susan, and therefore dishonoring the agreement between Susan and the Vendor.
There is a concern with the Vendor as well who has not tracked the absence of Susan, but continued to billing the contracting firm
Legally the first point to check is if the Vendor entered into either an “explicit agreement” or an "implied agreement". One more important point is what the terms of the contract are. But in this case both the firms have goofed up somewhere so should not go for legal help.
As the case says the Boss knows about the agreement but missed to inform the Vendor about the exit of Susan therefore didn’t honor the agreement and notice period. But as the Vendor also has missed to track the same, therefore should accept a replacement, with some monetary fine from the contract firm to close the issue without going to court (out of the court settlement)
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.