[Added 7-27-2009; amended 2-4-2019]
Due to the City of Springfield's high level of unemployment,
diversified workforce demographics, and large minority population,
the residents of Springfield should be part of and benefit from public
construction projects in the City of Springfield. Therefore, it is
appropriate for the City of Springfield to require that each public
construction project, as defined herein, include employment opportunities
for Springfield residents, minorities, women, and veterans through
compliance with the ordinance codified in this article. Further, as
the City finds and determines that taxpayer money is most efficiently
and productively spent by awarding construction contracts to firms
that include and enforce provisions requiring compliance with state
laws governing the payment of prevailing wages, the City Council hereby
finds and determines that it is appropriate for it to exercise entrepreneurial
discretion by requiring firms that are awarded such contracts to comply
with this article because a failure to comply is injurious to the
life, health and happiness of individuals employed by such firms and
is deleterious to the quality of life in the City where most of such
individuals reside. (As enacted on 07/27/2009)
B.
Since the enactment of said ordinance, the City of Springfield has
engaged in further review and consideration of the contracting, which
has highlighted the need to reexamine and further revise these contracting
guidelines to better ensure they serve their intended purpose, comport
with applicable federal and state law, and serve the best interests
of Springfield; and
C.
The City of Springfield, like many states and localities across the
United States, faces critical infrastructure needs that are substantial
in scope and that must be addressed, which will require the City of
Springfield to plan, manage and oversee major capital investments
in both the short and long term; and
D.
Securing successful delivery of public works projects is extremely
difficult due to the unique, complex, unpredictable and inherently
dangerous nature of the construction industry, wherein errors in project
planning or execution can result in serious health and safety risks
to project workers and/or the general public, unnecessary cost overruns,
flawed or inferior projects, and disruptions in schedules that delay
the use of critical government facilities; and
E.
The City of Springfield recognizes that the planning and execution
of such public works projects involves the exercise of essential police
powers to protect and promote public health, safety and welfare, and
constitutes one of the most important obligations Springfield has
to its citizens because such projects require substantial taxpayer
investments and are necessary to the effective performance of vital
government functions; and
F.
The City of Springfield has commissioned and is in receipt of findings
from an updated disparity study, which illustrates a level of disparity
in the City of Springfield, and now wishes to revise its procurement
standards for public works construction contracts to address these
findings and considerations, and increase employment opportunities
for Springfield residents, minorities, veterans, and women now based
on that study.
For the purpose of this article the words set out in this section
shall have the following meanings:
Any bid submission, proposal, or quote rendered by a contractor
to the City, or by any other tiered subcontractor for the performance
of work on a public construction project. (As enacted on 07/27/2009)
The City department or agency assigned or directly responsible
for the bidding of projects.
The collection of documents maintained by the Compliance
Unit and made available to the Monitoring Committee for inspection
including, but not limited to; the employee certification form, the
initial employee reporting form, supplied by the contractor, monthly
compliance reports, including recommendations made by the Monitoring
Committee and remedial actions taken by the contractor, contractor's
submitted compliance efforts, and final Monitoring Committee Decision
on project compliance with this article.
The City department assigned to monitor projects for compliance
with this article, and other vital project compliance data and information,
and to gather, coordinate, and supply project compliance information
to the Monitoring Committee.
All persons, corporations, agencies, firms, businesses, developers,
bidders, proposers, trade contractors, installers, general contractors,
or other named entity that has been awarded a "project" as defined
in this article and is the named signatory with the City and has direct
privity of contract with the City, except so-called designer or engineering
services pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 7C, Section
44. The contractor is solely responsible for the overall compliance
of any project and for organizing, planning, hiring, appointing, contracting,
retaining, and subcontracting with appropriate individuals and firms
to ensure compliance with this article. The contractor is responsible
for gathering, tracking and submitting all required compliance data
and forms from all tiered subcontractors that have been hired or otherwise
retained to perform work on the project, including the employee reporting
form, the employee certification form and the compliance log and is
responsible for ensuring that all contractors supplement or amend
the forms as needed during the duration of the project.
AFRICAN-AMERICANAll persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, including, but not limited to, African-Americans, and all persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Cape Verdean Islands.
HISPANICAll persons having their origins in any of the Spanish-speaking peoples of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or the Caribbean Islands.
ASIAN-AMERICANAll persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent, or the Pacific Islands, including, but not limited to China, Japan, Korea, Samoa, India, and the Philippine Islands;
AMERICAN INDIAN or NATIVE AMERICANAll persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who are recognized as an Indian by a tribe or tribal organization; or
ESKIMO or ALEUTAll persons having origins in the peoples of Northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Eastern Siberia.
The means and methods utilized by the Monitoring Committee
to render decisions on all contractor submittals, including but not
limited to the initial Springfield public construction employee reporting
form and supplements thereto, the Springfield public construction
compliance log, and all other related documents demonstrating compliance
efforts made by the contractor. Upon completion of any public construction
project under this article and a review of all contractor submittals,
the Monitoring Committee shall make one of the following compliance
findings:
Contractor has met all compliance requirements under the ordinance
for the project.
Contractor has demonstrated satisfactory attempts to comply
with the compliance thresholds, and the contractor's substantial efforts
have been documented in the compliance project file.
Contractor has failed to comply with the compliance thresholds,
and the contractor has failed to show or document satisfactory efforts
to the Monitoring Committee.
Construction project of the City of Springfield that is subject
to M.G.L. c. 149, § 44A(2), or M.G.L. c. 149A that have
an associated labor/construction cost of more than $500,000. On-call
service contracts, emergency contracts, all projects undertaken by
any regional commission or board to which the City of Springfield
is not the sole signatory to the contract, and/or all projects where
the City is not the only funding source and/or have specific compliance
standards dictated by that funding source, that are inconsistent with
the requirements of this article, are hereby exempt from this article.
A physical or electronic system (other than a handwritten
sign-in sheet) maintained by the contractor keeping track on a monthly
basis, as well as a project-to-date basis, of the employees and all
tiered subcontractors that are working on the project for the entire
duration of their work on the project. The records from this log shall
be submitted to Compliance Unit, in a form provided by the Compliance
Unit, and shall be made available for inspection by the Monitoring
Committee upon a scheduled project basis, as determined by the Monitoring
Committee. The Monitoring Committee shall develop the standards for
the tracking system to be utilized on a project which, at minimum,
shall require tracking of the following information: total number
of hours worked by the contractor's employees and any tiered subcontractors
employees by craft/trade category during the designated reporting
period and under the project timeline as a whole. The log shall include,
for each contractor and subcontractor, the total number of hours worked
by Springfield residents, minorities, females, and veterans for the
project during the designated reporting period and for the project
to date. The contractor, as the contract signatory and entity with
which the City has privity of contract, is responsible for gathering,
tracking, and submitting all required compliance data from all subcontractors,
sub-subcontractors, and installers that have been hired to perform
work in furtherance of any project to the Compliance Unit, and shall
include minority status, veteran status, and gender of each employee,
craft/trade category of each employee; hours worked on each employee
on a monthly and project-to-date basis; company for which each employee
is employed.
The form which must be submitted by the contractor awarded
a project to the Compliance Unit no more than 14 days after award
of contract or receipt of a notice to proceed, whichever is sooner,
and before commencement of work under the contract begins. Such form
shall list Springfield residents, minorities, women, and veterans
that have been contacted and confirmed to be employed by the contractor,
as well as any subcontractors or any other tiered subcontractors upon
which the contractor has retained to assist in the completion of the
project. Such form shall be submitted by the contractor to the Compliance
Unit, which will then make it available for inspection by the Monitoring
Committee and made a part of the compliance project file. Such form
may be from time to time amended by the Compliance Unit and/or Office
of Procurement to suit the purpose and intent of this article. The
contractor, as the contract signatory and entity with which the City
has privity of contract, is responsible for gathering, tracking, and
submitting all required compliance data from all subcontractors, any
other tiered subcontractors, and installers that have been hired or
otherwise retained to perform work in furtherance of any public construction
project to the Compliance Unit, and is responsible for supplementing
or amending the form as needed during the duration of the project.
All contractors are responsible for providing this form to all tiered
subcontractors retained throughout the duration of the project.
The form which must be submitted by the contractor with any
and all bids for public construction requiring that, as a condition
for bidding, the contractor agrees to comply with the requirements
contained in this article if awarded the contract. Such form may be
from time to time amended by the Compliance Department and/or Office
of Procurement to suit the purpose and intent of this article.
Any person for whom the principal place of residence is within
the City of Springfield during the entirety of time the person works
on a project within the City of Springfield. Proof of such residence
may include, but is not limited to, the following: a valid Massachusetts
Driver's License or Massachusetts Identification Card, indicating
a Springfield residence, utility bills in the purported resident's
name, or proof of voter registration within the city of Springfield
or such other proof acceptable to the monitoring committee.
Herein known as "Monitoring Committee." This article, its
enforcement, and compliance with its requirements shall be monitored
by the Monitoring Committee. The Monitoring Committee shall be comprised
of five individuals including the following and each shall serve at
the discretion of his or her appointing authority:
Two appointees of the City Council;
Three appointees of the Mayor. Initially, one appointment by
the Mayor and one appointment by the City Council shall serve for
one year. Except as noted herein all appointments made in accordance
with this article shall serve for two-year terms. Such terms may be
sooner terminated, with or without cause, by the appointing authority
named herein. All action by the monitoring committee shall be by majority
vote of a quorum of the then-appointed members. A quorum shall be
no less than three members.
Those persons, corporations, agencies, firms, businesses,
developers, bidders, proposers, trade contractors, and/or installers,
that have contracted or been retained by the contractor or other subcontractor
for the provision of services and materials related to and a part
of the project.
A person who has served in any branch of the United States
Armed Forces, and was not dishonorably discharged.
A.
All bidders and contractors for projects as defined herein subject
to M.G.L. c. 149, § 44A(2), or M.G.L. c. 149A, shall, as
a condition for bidding, agree in writing that they shall comply with
the following:
(1)
The contractor, as the contract signatory and entity with which the
City has privity of contract, as well as all tiers of subcontractors,
shall comply with the Springfield Responsible Employer Ordinance as
it currently exists and as it may, from time to time, be amended.
The contractor shall be responsible for reporting to the Compliance
Unit when any subcontractor or installer has been hired for the project,
through the use of the Springfield public construction compliance
logs. The contractor shall be solely responsible for gathering, organizing,
and transmitting all required compliance data from each subcontractor
or sub-subcontractor it retains in the furtherance of completing a
public construction project to the Compliance Unit on a timely basis
and in the correct format.
B.
On public construction projects as defined herein, the contractor
shall comply with the following requirements and such requirements
are incorporated by reference into the bid specifications:
(1)
In accordance with this article, the contractor shall be required
to provide employment in the amount of 35% minimum of the total project
hours worked by Massachusetts residents retained by the contractor
on the project, to Springfield residents.
(2)
The contractor shall be required to provide employment in the amount
of 20% minimum of the total project hours worked by the contractor
or otherwise retained by the contractor through subcontracting to
minorities.
(3)
The contractor shall be required to provide employment in the amount
of 6.9% minimum of the total project hours worked by the contractor
or otherwise retained by the contractor through subcontracting to
women.
(4)
The contractor shall be required to provide employment in the amount
of 5.0% minimum of the total project hours worked by the contractor
or otherwise retained by the contractor through subcontracting to
veterans.
(5)
The contractor shall be required to complete and submit the Springfield
construction Employment Certification Form, with any and all bids
for public construction projects to ensure compliance with this article.
This form will be included in the bid specifications. Failure of the
contractor to submit such form shall be cause for rejection of the
bid.
(6)
The contractor who has been awarded a public construction project
by the bidding authority shall complete the Springfield construction
employee reporting form and submit the same to the Compliance Unit
no more than 14 days after award of contract or receipt of a notice
to proceed, whichever occurs first, and before commencement of work
under the contract begins to demonstrate the contractor's intended
project team upon contract award. The contractor, as the contract
signatory, is responsible for gathering, tracking, and submitting
all required compliance data from all subcontractors, sub-subcontractors,
and installers that have been hired to perform work in furtherance
of any public construction project to the Compliance Unit on the Springfield
construction employee reporting form accurately and completely.
(7)
All contractors who are awarded a project subject to this article shall maintain a monthly Springfield public construction compliance log, as defined in § 82-45, as provided by the Compliance Unit, keeping track on a monthly basis, as well as on a project to date basis, of the contractors' employees, as well as all subcontractors and sub-subcontractors that are working on the project for the entire duration of the project. Such records from this tracking system shall be submitted monthly to the Compliance Unit with certified payroll submissions. The contractor, as the contract signatory, is responsible for gathering, tracking, and submitting all required compliance data from all subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and installers that have been hired to perform work in furtherance of any public construction project to the Compliance Unit for inspection, accurately and completely. (As enacted on 07/27/2009.)
(8)
The contractor and all tiered subcontractors shall properly classify
employees employed on the project as employees rather than independent
contractors and shall properly classify said employees accordingly
for purposes of workers' compensation insurance coverage, employment
taxes, social security taxes and income tax withholding pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 149.
A.
The contractor, after submitting the employee certification form
with their bid, and upon being awarded a project, will supply the
Compliance Unit with an accurate and up to date Springfield construction
employee reporting form no more than 14 days after award of contract
or receipt of a notice to proceed, whichever is sooner, and before
commencement of work under the contract begins, showing the contractor's
intended project team.
B.
The contractor will provide a representative/point of contact to
the Compliance Unit and Monitoring Committee in order to answer questions,
supply required documentation, and appear before the Monitoring Committee.
The contractor shall appear before the Monitoring Committee at regular
intervals, not to exceed once per month, to present compliance efforts
over the course of the public construction project. The Monitoring
Committee will establish such scheduled meetings with the contractor
at the outset of the public construction project.
C.
The contractor will provide the Compliance Unit and Monitoring Committee
with documentation regarding its compliance efforts on the project.
Such efforts shall include, but not be limited to, advertising employment
opportunities in minority and other local and community news media;
notifying women's and other community-based organizations of employment
opportunities; notifying local career center(s) of employment opportunities;
maintaining a file of each worker referred to the contractor and what
action was taken concerning such worker; establishing an apprenticeship
or other training program; soliciting local companies for contracting
purposes, attendance of trade shows or labor fairs, records of conversations
had with sub-trade contractors or other coordination efforts to meet
goals; reasonable advertising on various job boards; hiring incentives;
job site notifications; self-audits; employee surveys; submission
of contractor's affirmative action plans or policies; general contractor
subcontractor or sub-subcontractor testimony; submission of correspondence
to organizations referred by the Compliance Unit or Monitoring Committee;
incorporation of equal employment opportunity language in subcontract
agreements; management training efforts in compliance. If a contractor
has a collective bargaining agreement with a union which has failed
to refer a Springfield resident, minority, veteran, or woman worker,
the contractor must provide a letter from the union documenting that
it cannot supply the requisite employee.
D.
The contractor will continue to supply the Compliance Unit and Monitoring
Committee with any documents and testimony as may be required to demonstrate
compliance efforts throughout the duration of the public construction
project. The contractor, as the contract signatory, is responsible
for gathering, tracking, and submitting all required compliance data
from all subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and installers that have
been hired to perform work in furtherance of any public construction
project to the Compliance Unit.
E.
Upon completion of the public construction project, the Monitoring
Committee will issue a Monitoring Committee decision on project compliance,
based on the entirety of documents, forms, and testimony submitted
by the contractor and any subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and
installers that have been hired/retained by the contractor to perform
work in furtherance of the public construction project.
A.
Such committee shall meet on a bi-weekly basis, or as needed, and
shall review and monitor all information and documentation provided
by contractors to the Compliance Unit to establish compliance with
this article.
B.
If through such monitoring it is determined that one or more contractors
are not complying with this article, the Committee, in conjunction
with the Compliance Unit and contractor, shall make recommendations
to bolster compliance efforts of the contractor, with those recommendations
and remedial measures to be maintained in the compliance project file.
A.
The Monitoring Committee shall regularly review the contractor's
submissions, including but not limited to; the construction employee
reporting form, the Springfield public construction compliance log,
and any other forms, documents, or information required under this
article as the Monitoring Committee deems necessary from time to time,
as submitted by contractors to the Compliance Unit pursuant to this
article. The Monitoring Committee shall further be responsible for
carrying out the review provisions of this article.
B.
The Monitoring Committee shall make a Monitoring Committee decision on project compliance with this article, pursuant to § 82-45 and as cited below with the following criteria:
(1)
Ensure that the contractor has properly completed the public construction
employee reporting form as well as the Springfield public construction
compliance log, and, as signatory to the contract, has included required
compliance information for all subcontractors, sub-subcontractors,
and installers that have been hired to perform work in furtherance
of any public construction project. To the extent the Committee determines
that any tiered subcontractor has failed to comply with its reporting
obligations under this article, it shall direct the contractor to
compel the subcontractor to comply or report back to the Committee
that the subcontractor is refusing to comply.
(2)
Each contractor and tiered subcontractor shall demonstrate the employment
of Springfield residents, minorities, veterans, and women, in accordance
with the submitted Springfield construction employee reporting form,
Springfield public construction compliance logs and any other supplemental
documentation throughout the project.
(3)
That all information supplied by contractor shows compliance with
minimum employment requirements cited in this article, otherwise demonstrates
that the contractor has made satisfactory attempts to meet with the
compliance requirements, or shows that the contractor has failed to
comply with the compliance threshold and has failed to show or document
satisfactory efforts. The contractor's efforts shall be documented
in the compliance project file. The Monitoring Committee review will
also include the contractor's attendance records of scheduled Monitoring
Committee meetings and records of compliance efforts and or remedial
measures taken by the contractor at said meetings, as well as a review
of previous projects performed by the contractor with regards to compliance
efforts demonstrated thereto.
C.
The Monitoring Committee shall file a final Monitoring Committee decision on project compliance with the Compliance Unit, bidding authority and corresponding compliance project. Such decision shall also be sent by registered or certified mail to the contractors and subcontractors who have been reviewed for compliance. Such decision shall be in the manner of the form titled "Springfield Construction Employment Monitoring Committee Decision on Compliance with the Springfield Responsible Employer Ordinance." Within 14 business days of receipt of a final decision from the monitoring committee that finds noncompliance with this article, the City shall send written notice to the noncompliant party, stating therein the enforcement actions to be taken under § 82-50 below, if any. (As enacted on 07/27/2009)
A.
In accord with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 40, §§ 21D
and 31 as well as every other authority and power that may have been
or may hereafter be conferred upon it, the City may enforce the provisions
of this article, restrain violations thereof, and seek injunctions
and judgments to secure compliance. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, in the event a contractor has failed to comply with
the compliance thresholds, and has failed to show or document satisfactory
efforts to the Monitoring Committee, the City may take any or all
of the following recommendation actions:
(1)
Cease-and-desist order against any contractor to stop the project;
(2)
Withholding of payment due under any contract until compliance is
obtained through the mechanisms of this article;
(3)
Permanent removal from any work on the project; and
(4)
A recommendation to the bidding authority for a finding of the contractor
as being "not responsible" within the purview of Massachusetts General
Law c. 149, § 44D.
B.
Contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, bidders and proposers
shall be equally liable for violations of this article by subcontractors
hired to perform work under the contractor in furtherance of a public
construction project as defined herein, with the exception of violations
arising from work performed pursuant to subcontracts that are subject
to M.G.L. c. 149, § 44F. (As enacted on 07/27/2009).
Where this law or any selection of employees thereto conflicts
with other laws relating to affirmative action hiring requirements
as set forth by federal, state or local laws and/or their respective
funding sources, those laws shall supersede this article. (As enacted
on 07/27/2009)
In the event any section of this article is deemed illegal,
unenforceable or unconstitutional, then the remaining sections shall
remain in full force and effect. (As enacted on 07/27/2009)
This article shall be effective upon the City Council's formal
adoption of a comprehensive disparity study commissioned by the City
and this Amendment.
