[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of New Rochelle 5-17-2016 by Res. No. 113-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Procurement policy — See Ch. 62.
There is hereby established an Economic Opportunity and Nondiscrimination
Policy for the City of New Rochelle, applicable to City-awarded contracts
and specified economic development projects, as follows.
The City of New Rochelle finds and determines that contracts
awarded by the City, and economic development projects supported by
the City or benefiting from zoning enhancements, provide a crucial
opportunity for advancing City policy objectives, including targeting
employment and business opportunities. In addition, prohibiting barriers
to employment and invidious discrimination in City-supported contracts
and projects is an important goal of the City in its expenditures
and economic development activities.
The following terms shall have the following meanings in this
policy:
The City of New Rochelle.
A contract awarded by the City of New Rochelle, or a subcontract
thereunder.
A business performing construction work, or subcontracting
to another entity to perform construction work, in furtherance of
a City Contract or in construction of a Public-Private Project. "Construction
Contractor" includes Prime Contractors.
A developer of a Public-Private Project.
A business employing at least five individuals to work either
in fulfillment of a City Contract, or on-site within a Public-Private
Project. "Employer" does not include construction contractors.
A source designated by the City for prompt referral of qualified
and/or trained workers to Construction Contractors and Employers,
for purposes of this Policy.
A business concern that is at least 51% owned by one or more
individuals who are African American, Hispanic American, Native American,
Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Indian American, or female; and whose
management and daily business operations are controlled by one or
more of these owners.
New Rochelle residents between the ages of 16 and 24 who
are unemployed or underemployed and not attending school.
[Amended 2-14-2017 by Ord. No. 38-2017]
A Construction Contractor that is party to a City Contract,
or a prime contractor retained to perform construction work on a Public-Private
Project.
A development project:
That receives financial aid, assistance, or funding from the
City, including any public financing or contribution, such as loans,
loan guarantees, tax credits, tax abatements, or infrastructure construction;
For which the City is transferring ownership of or leasing right
to occupy any real property, including rights-of-way or street vacation,
whether at or below market rate;
For which the City is entering into a development agreement
or similar agreement;
For which a developer has opted into the Downtown Overlay Zone;
or
For which the City includes compliance with this Policy a term
or condition of a voluntarily negotiated agreement, requested discretionary
permit, or requested legislative action.
A Construction Contractor that employs an apprentice in accordance
with the standards of apprenticeship through agreement with an apprenticeship
program registered with the New York State Department of Labor.
A qualified and/or trained worker referred to a Construction
Contractor or Employer by the First Source Center, either for the
currently available position, or for any position within the previous
12 months.
A.
Construction employment.
(1)
Hiring procedures.
(a)
Each Construction Contractor shall take the following steps
in the following order, in an effort to employ Targeted Workers to
perform at least 20% of the work hours on the project or contract.
[1]
Step One: utilize the Construction Contractor's discretion
to assign to perform project work to any current employees who are
Targeted Workers;
[2]
Step Two: If the Construction Contractor utilizes a union hiring
hall to retain workers, utilize name call, rehire, similar procedures
in the relevant collective bargaining agreement, and an explicit request,
to retain Targeted Workers;
[3]
Step Three: If the above steps have not enabled employment of
Targeted Workers to perform at least 20% of the work hours on the
project or contract, request referral of Targeted Workers from the
First Source Center; and
[4]
Step Four: Reasonably consider workers that have been referred
by the First Source Center within five business days of request therefor.
(b)
If the Construction Contractor has not filled available jobs
with Targeted Workers through the steps set forth above, it may recruit
and hire workers through any mechanism, and shall continue to reasonably
consider workers that have been referred by the First Source Center
for up to 15 days after initial notification. Employers that need
to hire on an emergency basis in order to maintain operations may
hire from any source immediately, but still shall notify the First
Source Center about available positions, and reasonably consider any
candidates referred before hiring is complete.
(2)
New apprentice employment requirements for Prime Contractors. For
each 20,000 construction work hours performed by a Prime Contractor
and its subcontractors of any tier, such Prime Contractor and/its
subcontractors of any tier shall act as a Subscribing Employer for
at least one individual newly enrolled as an apprentice in an apprenticeship
program registered with the New York State Department of Labor, and
employ such new apprentice for an aggregate total of at least 1,000
hours of work on the prime contract or subcontracts.
B.
Nonconstruction employment. Each Employer shall undertake the following
steps in the following order, in an effort to hire Targeted Workers
to fill at least 25% of available jobs on the project or contract.
(1)
Step One: Notification of job opportunities. When an Employer has
an opening for an on-site job available, the Employer shall notify
the First Source Center of the job opening and provide a description
of job responsibilities and qualifications. Job qualifications shall
be limited to qualifications directly related to performance of job
duties.
(2)
Step Two: Consideration of Targeted Workers. The Employer shall then
use standard hiring practices, including interviews, to consider all
Targeted Workers referred by the First Source Center and meeting the
qualifications described in the referral request during a five-day
period after initial notification, or until all open on-site jobs
are filled, whichever is sooner. The Employer shall make good-faith
efforts to fill all available on-site jobs with Targeted Workers.
If at the conclusion of the five-day period the Employer has been
unable to fill all openings for on-site jobs with Targeted Workers,
the Employer may use other recruitment methods. Employers that need
to hire on an emergency basis in order to maintain operations may
hire from any source immediately, but still shall notify the First
Source Center about available positions, and reasonably consider any
candidates referred before hiring is complete.
C.
Hiring discretion. Nothing in this policy requires that any Construction
Contractor or Employer hire any particular individual; each Construction
Contractor shall have the sole discretion to judge the qualification
of and to hire or decline to hire any individual referred by the First
Source Center or any other source. In order to improve the first source
system and the City's job training pipeline, each Employer that
declines to hire all first source referrals for an available position
shall provide to the First Source Center a written account of reasons
for rejecting such candidates.
D.
First Source Center.
(1)
Role and responsibilities. The City shall designate a First Source
Center, which shall refer qualified and/or trained workers to employers
pursuant to this policy. The First Source Center shall coordinate
referrals from multiple sources in and around New Rochelle. Referrals
of workers to employers under this policy shall include available
information on candidates, including background, qualifications, contact
information, relevant training or skills, and resumes and references.
(2)
Outreach and recruitment. The First Source Center shall concentrate
outreach and recruitment on New Rochelle residents, and shall coordinate
with referral and workforce development sources serving New Rochelle
residents.
(3)
Prioritization of Opportunity Youth. In making referrals to employers,
the First Source Center shall prioritize referrals of Opportunity
Youth, where such candidates meet employer qualifications.
A.
Construction contracts.
(1)
Prime contracting. The City and each Developer shall have a goal
of awarding at least 10% of prime contracts for construction work,
including trucking services, to businesses based in the City. The
City and the Developer shall make affirmative efforts to provide outreach
to M/WBEs, including notification of bidding opportunities to a list
of sources provided by the City, responsive communications with M/WBEs
that express interest in bidding, and full and fair considerations
of bids submitted by M/WBEs.
(2)
Subcontracting. Each Prime Contractor shall have a goal of awarding
at least 20% of the dollar value of subcontracts for construction
work, including trucking services, to businesses based in the City.
Each Prime Contractor shall make affirmative efforts to provide outreach
to M/WBEs, including notification of bidding opportunities to a list
of sources provided by the City, responsive communications with M/WBEs
that express interest in bidding, and full and fair considerations
of bids submitted by M/WBEs.
(3)
Contracts and subcontracts for construction shall include the requirement
to submit quarterly utilization reports in a form provided by the
City indicating the number and percentage of Targeted Workers and
M/WBEs employed at a job site, with certified payroll sheets listing
employees' biweekly payroll.
B.
Service contracts.
(1)
The City, each Developer, Employers, and management entities operating
portions of Public-Private Projects shall have a goal of awarding
at least 20% of the dollar value of service contracts (not including
construction contracts) to be performed on-site at the project to
businesses based in the City. Entities awarding service contracts
shall make affirmative efforts to provide outreach to M/WBEs, including
notification of bidding opportunities to a list of sources provided
by the City, responsive communications with M/WBEs that express interest
in bidding, and full and fair considerations of bids submitted by
M/WBEs.
(2)
Service contracts shall include the requirement to submit quarterly
utilization reports in a form provided by the City indicating the
number and percentage of Targeted Workers and M/WBEs employed on Public-Private
Projects, with certified payroll sheets listing employees' biweekly
payroll.
[Amended 11-21-2017 by Res. No. 229-2017]
A.
Application. This Policy applies to and shall be incorporated into
all City Contracts and into contracts between the City and Developers
related to Public-Private Projects. When parties referenced in this
Policy engage subcontractors, tenants, and other parties to operate
in Public-Private Projects or as participants in fulfillment of City
Contracts, this Policy shall be incorporated by reference into relevant
contracts as a material term, enforceable by the City as a third-party
beneficiary.
B.
Monitoring. All parties with responsibilities under this Policy agree
to provide information requested by the City as necessary to determine
compliance with this Policy. Developers, Prime Contractors, and Employers
shall provide annual public reports regarding compliance with this
Policy. The City shall make available to the public in electronic
format all such reports.
C.
Enforcement. Developers, Construction Contractors, and Employers
are subject to liquidated damages in cases of noncompliance with this
Policy. The City Manager shall release a schedule of liquidated damages
pertaining to particular violations of this Policy. When this Policy
is included as a term of a contract, it incorporates by reference
the most recently released version of the liquidated damages schedule,
and any other Policy clarifications released by the City. Liquidated
damages shall be assessed by the City only in cases of sustained,
material noncompliance, and after notice and opportunity to correct.
Developers, Construction Contractors, and Employers also agree to
remedies of specific performance and other contractual or equitable
remedies related to compliance with this Policy. The liquidated damages
schedule shall contain procedures relating to notice and opportunity
to cure, and an appeals process in cases of assessment of liquidated
damages. The City Manager may revise the liquidated damages schedule
and other Policy clarifications over time, in light of implementation
experience, with the goal of fostering successful implementation of
this Policy without an adversarial or punitive approach.
D.
Severability. If any provision of this Policy or any application
thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by final judgment
of any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not
affect other provisions or application of this Policy, which can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this Policy are declared to be severable.
[Amended 11-21-2017 by Res. No. 229-2017]
The City and each Construction Contractor, Employer, and Developer
shall refrain from discrimination or harassment based on race, ethnicity,
national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,
religion, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited
by law, in all activities in furtherance of or on site of work performed
in relation to a City Contract or a Public-Private Project. Such entities
shall take active steps to ensure that all activities related to City
Contracts and Public-Private Projects are conducted without discrimination
or harassment on these bases by all employees and representatives.
