TERMS AND CONDITIONS
HOURLY RATES: All assignments have a 2 hour minimum fee (all hourly rates subject to change depending on nature of request and complexity, ie. if contracting First Choice Interpreting Service (FCIS) to fill multiple requests or ‘staff’ Interpreters for an ongoing or one time assignment. This will also apply to requests which are technical in nature or require linguistic specialization or knowledge). *See STAFFING BASE RATE*
(a) My Direct Hire Base Rate
This rate is ONLY when hiring my services directly as a practitioner.
(b) Staffing Base Rate
Normal business hours are from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m ET, Monday-Friday
Evening/Weekend Differential will be billed an additional $5/hr on top of the hourly rate
(c) High Profile/Specialized Base Rate: *See PRESS CONFERENCES*
(this will be determined based on the dynamics, nature, technicality, specialized language, and demand of the request such as political, cultural, legal, medical, etc. This also applies to interpreters being asked to function in a trilingual capacity) *evening/weekend differential will apply*
(d) Emergency Rate/Last Minute Requests:
(any job requested with less than 48 business hours notice) *evening/weekend differential will apply*
(e) Holiday Rate:
All National and Federally recognized holidays will be billed at time and a half *see HOURLY RATES* *evening/weekend differential will apply*
MILEAGE/TRANSPORTATION: Included in hourly rate unless otherwise noted by (FCIS), in which case the standard Government mileage rate will be applied as well as parking reimbursement. *Receipts upon request*.
PAYMENT OPTIONS/TERMS: Checks, credit cards, and certain electronic payments are accepted at this time such as ACH direct deposit through our invoicing system. Credit card payments will be charged a processing fee percetanage per transaction. We ask that you indicate prior to receiving the invoice, which method you will be using to remit payment. * All final payments are due in full within 30 days of invoice receipt*
Late payments: When an invoice is past due it will incur penalties. Late payments may be subject to additional fees, not to exceed 10% of the full invoice amount, or of $25 USD for each 30 day cycle in which the due amount has not been paid in full. For requests with an estimated final cost of $1,000.00 USD or higher, a deposit of half the total amount will be required to retain services.
Overtime: When assignments go over the scheduled end time they will be billed an adjusted amount based on the quarter hour. Example: A request is made for an interpreter which is scheduled to end at 1:00 PM, but the assignment goes until 1:15 PM. The adjusted rate will be billed to the quarter hour, and every subsequent quarter block until the assignment is completed, rounded up to the nearest whole.
CANCELLATION POLICY: There is no charge when a request for service is cancelled two full business days before the start of the assignment (48 business hours). Any cancellations made thereafter will be billed in full. Client no-shows are covered under the cancellation policy umbrella.
TEAM INTERPRETING: An assignment requiring Sign Language Interpreters, which is scheduled to last longer than 1 hour, and/or may be more rigorous in nature, will be filled by a team of two or more Interpreters. This is done to preserve the integrity of the message, protect the health of the Interpreter(s), as well as provide equitable access to all attendees/participants. Assignments involving multiple sessions or multiple participants in need of interpreting services, may choose to request a team to be assigned to each session or to each participant. ie breakouts/concurrent sessions. In all cases, duration of request is not the singular factor which determines the number of Interpreters needed.
VIRTUAL INTERPRETING : Remote interpreting requests where participants are connected via a virtual platform will be billed at the standard hourly rate with a two hour minimum. Teaming needs will be assessed based on the complexity and needs of the request/assignment, regardless of duration. *see TEAM INTERPRETING*
Tech Checks: When hosting virtual events, there is often a need to pre-conference to ensure stable internet connections, do run-throughs/rehearsals, or walk through with the production team to test the virtual platform. This is outside of typical interpreting duties, however, we understand the complicated logistics of incorporating language accessibility into your events. Interpreters, for any request, will be available at least 15 minutes prior at not extra charge. In the event that the host(s) would like to do any pre-conferencing exceeding 20 minutes in length, whether on the day of or on an agreed upon time and date, this will be billed at the hourly base rate foregoing the two hour minimum. This is to block out the interpreter’s time to be available for the pre-meet. Since tech checks often are not programmed at the time of the request, we cannot guarantee that all assigned interpreters will be available for tech checks. *see STAFFING BASE RATE*
Recording/Re-use Rights/Live Stream: When hosting a virtual event in which the live interpreters will be recorded and archived for future viewings, embedded in the event, or live streamed, this needs to be stated in advance as part of the request. Since the interpreter’s interpretation will be accessible for the foreseeable future and they are unable to dictate when and where this video is shown, a ‘right to record’ fee will be billed per interpreter, based on complexity and duration of the event.
PRESS CONFERENCES/BRIEFINGS/PUBLIC APPEARANCES: When Interpreters are asked to interpret for televised live feeds in high profile situations, which are sensitive in nature, require licensing/certification, expose them to a greater level of scrutiny, and which are also specialized in nature, will be billed at a higher rate, excluding time needed for travel/parking and preparation. If the interpreters are requested with less than 48 hours notice, there will be an additional emergency fee assessed of $15/hour added to the original fee. *See HOURLY RATES*
(a) Prep Materials are requested for all events but specifically televised/recorded/livestream/high profile events, where names, speakers, positions, and details are of utmost importance and crucial to the message delivery. Examples of prep materials are: Prepared remarks (even a draft), target audience, participants (speakers and their roles), objective/goal, canned questions, location (indoor or outdoors), etc. In some cases, a run through is also ideal whether in person or virtual. Every event is different, therefore, the needs may change dependent on the situational dynamics.
OUT OF STATE INTERPRETERS: If there are limited qualified local interpreters to perform ongoing or one-time requests, interpreters who meet the qualifications and reside in other States, can be requested for onsite assignments. The entity will reimburse or pay travel in advance, in addition to the standard billed hourly rates according to the request. *See HOURLY RATES*
DEAF INTERPRETERS: The use of Deaf Interpreters (DIs) or Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDIs) will be based on the needs of each interpreting request. C/DIs will be vetted and assessed, meeting the same criteria as Hearing Interpreters (HIs). Contingent on situational dynamics, as well as to meet the needs of native language users, C/DIs will be teamed/partnered with HIs for inclusive and linguistic accuracy. *see TEAM INTERPRETING*
TRANSLATION: This involves requests for any pre-recorded content in which C/DIs and/or HIs will be used. Base rates will apply to all interpreting work performed by the mentioned Interpreters. The time needed to accurately translate said content from the source language will be calculated at half the hourly base rate and added to the actual interpreting time. *see HOURLY RATES*
COORDINATION: When contracting FCIS, or a member of its team to coordinate interpreting services for a one-time event, any ongoing event/assignment, or to handle ongoing scheduling, the entity will be billed according to the standard base rate times the amount of coordination hours. In most cases, the coordinator will be present during the requested interpreting times, and available to serve as a backup/support/additional member of the team. When the Interpreter Coordinator is also scheduled as a working interpreter, the entity will be billed the hourly rate plus half.
REFERRAL FEE: When not contracting FCIS for services but FCIS is referring interpreters to be hired by your Entity, FCIS will charge a fee of $45.
These terms and conditions are subject to change. Please contact us for the most current copy of terms.
For inquiries or other questions regarding these terms and conditions, please contact: info@firstchoiceinterpreting.com.