The purpose of this chapter is to improve the
lives of working people and their families by requiring employers
that contract with the City of Monroe and grantees which receive financial
assistance or tax abatements from the City of Monroe to pay their
employees a wage sufficient to meet their basic subsistence needs,
defined herein as a "living wage."
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
CONTRACTOR
A person or entity who enters into a professional service
contract with the City where the total amount of the contract or contracts
with the City exceeds $15,000 during any twelve-month period.
COVERED EMPLOYEE
A person who provides no less than 30 hours of personal services
per average workweek to a contractor or grantee while in the employment
of said contractor or grantee.
EMPLOYEE
An individual who provides personal services preformed for
wages under any contract calling for the performance of personal services,
whether written or oral, express or implied.
EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS or HEALTH BENEFITS
Providing health care benefits for employees (or employees
and their dependents) at employer cost or making an employer contribution
for the purchase of such health care benefits for employees (or employees
and their dependants), provided that the employer cost or contribution
equals no less than $1 an hour for the average workweek of such employee,
and provided further that the employee payment or contribution toward
health care shall not exceed $0.50 an hour for the average workweek
for each such employee.
GRANT
Any form of financial assistance given to a "grantee" as
set forth and defined in the definition of that term in this section.
GRANTEE
A person who is the recipient of any financial assistance
from the City in the form of any federal, state or local grant program
administered by the City, including but not limited to tax increment
financing, tax abatement, tax credit, direct grant or any other form
of financial assistance. Grantees shall be further divided into the
following two categories:
A.
INDUSTRIAL GRANTEEA person who is the recipient of an industrial facilities tax certificate, obsolete property tax certificate or tax abatement regardless of the dollar amount of such industrial facilities tax certificate, obsolete property tax certificate or tax abatement.
B.
NONINDUSTRIAL GRANTEEA person who is the recipient of a tax credit or direct grant where such grant funds are used for the purchase of equipment, working capital or the construction of or improvements to a building in an amount that exceeds $10,000 in any twelve-month period.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, club,
joint venture, organization, estate, trust, entity and any other group
or combination acting as a unit, and the individuals constituting
such group or unit.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
A type of personal service that requires as a condition precedent
to the rendering of the service the obtaining of a license or other
legal authorization. Professional service includes, but is not limited
to, services rendered by a certified or other public accountant, professional
engineer, land surveyor, architect and attorney-at-law.
A contractor or grantee shall pay each of its employees no less than a living wage as defined in §
427-4.
A contractor or grantee who violates the living
wage requirement shall pay to each covered employee affected the amount
of the deficiency for each day the violation continues. A violation
of the terms and provisions of this chapter may be grounds for the
City to void and terminate the contractual relationship or grant with
the violating contractor or grantee.