[Added 7-5-2011 by Ord. No. 12-11]
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the definitions indicated, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
CONTROLLER
The Allegheny County Controller.
E-VERIFY PROGRAM
The electronic employment verification program created in Public Law 104-208 and expanded in Public Law 108-156, as amended, and jointly administered by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, or any successor program designated by the federal government for verification of whether an employee has the necessary employment authorization(s).
CONTRACT
A. 
Any public contract for services between the County and a contractor; or
B. 
Any contract or a purchase authorization between the County and a contractor for construction, alteration, improvement, repair, maintenance or demolition of any public building or public work by or on behalf of the County.
CONTRACTOR
A person having a contract with the County, but shall not include vendors who are parties to contracts solely for the sale of goods or other tangible materials to the County.
COUNTY SUBSIDY
Any grant, loan that is forgiven or discounted below the market rate over the life of the loan, bond financing, infrastructure improvements related to a project, below-market sale or lease of property, or other form of financial assistance related to a project with an aggregate value of at least $100,000, but shall not include an educational or training grant.
KNOWINGLY EMPLOY AN UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN
Shall have the meaning prescribed under the terms of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a), and shall be interpreted consistently with such section and any federal rules or regulations applicable thereto.
NEWLY HIRED FOR EMPLOYMENT
Hired to work in the United States since the effective date of the contract.
UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN
An alien that is not authorized to be employed within the United States pursuant to the terms of 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(h)(3), and shall be interpreted consistently with such section and any federal rules or regulations applicable thereto.
A. 
Prior to executing a contract, each prospective County contractor or contactor desiring to work on a County-subsidized project shall certify that, at the time of the certification, it does not knowingly employ or contract with an unauthorized alien who will perform work under the contract and that the contractor will participate in the e-verify program in order to confirm the employment eligibility of all employees who are newly hired for employment to perform work under the contract.
B. 
Each contract shall include a provision that the County contractor or contactor desiring to work on a County-subsidized project shall not:
(1) 
Knowingly employ or contract with an unauthorized alien to perform work under any contract, whether with the County or County-subsidized entity; or
(2) 
Enter into a contract with a subcontractor that fails to certify to the contractor that the subcontractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with an unauthorized alien to perform work under the contract with the County or County-subsidized entity.
C. 
Each contract with the County or contactor desiring to work on a County-subsidized project shall include the following provisions:
(1) 
A provision stating that the contractors have confirmed the employment eligibility of all employees who are newly hired for employment to perform work under the contract through participation in the e-verify program;
(2) 
A provision that prohibits the contractors from using the e-verify program procedures to undertake pre-employment screening of job applicants while the contract is being performed and that otherwise requires the contractor to comply with any and all federal requirements related to use of the e-verify program, including, but not limited to, all program requirements related to employee notification and preservation of employee rights;
(3) 
A provision requiring that, if the contractors desiring to work or working on a County-subsidized project obtain actual knowledge that a subcontractor performing work under the contract knowingly employs or contracts with an unauthorized alien, the contractors shall be required to:
(a) 
Notify the subcontractor and the County within three days that the contractor has actual knowledge that the subcontractor is employing or contracting with an unauthorized alien; and
(b) 
Terminate the subcontract with the subcontractor if, within three days of receiving the notice required pursuant to Subsection C(3)(a), the subcontractor does not stop employing or contracting with the unauthorized alien; except that the contractor shall not terminate the contract with the subcontractor if during such three days the subcontractor provides information to establish that the subcontractor has not knowingly employed or contracted with an unauthorized alien.
(4) 
A provision that requires the contractor to comply with any reasonable request by Controller made in the course of an investigation that the Controller is undertaking pursuant to the terms of this article.
D. 
If a contractor violates a provision of the contract required pursuant to Subsection B or C of this section, the County may terminate the contract for a breach of the contract. If any contract is so terminated, the contractor or entity to which the County subsidy is provided shall be liable for actual and consequential damages to the County. Any such termination of a contract due to a violation of this section may also, at the discretion of any County department or agency responsible for soliciting contract bids and proposals or any County department or agency responsible for awarding County subsidies, constitute grounds for disqualifying the violator from submitting bids or proposals for future contracts with the County, working on future County-subsidized projects, or from receiving future County subsidies.
Any entity receiving a County subsidy that is equal to or greater than the aggregate of $100,000 shall provide a list of the contractors or subcontractors on the County-subsidized project to the County and Controller. Any and all of these contractors shall meet all the verification and certification requirements under this article. The entity shall also notify the general contractor(s) on the County-subsidized project to make sure the general contractor(s) is aware of the requirements of this article as well as any all other contractors and subcontractors. A failure of the entity to which a County subsidy is provided to meet either of these requirements may, at the discretion of the County Manager, result in the entity being subject to the provisions of § 5-912.02D.
A. 
The Controller shall receive complaints of suspected violations of a provision of a contract required pursuant to the terms of § 5-912.02, and shall have discretion to determine which complaints, if any, are to be investigated.
B. 
The Controller may investigate whether a contractor is complying with the contract provisions required pursuant to the terms of § 5-912.02. During such investigation, the Controller may inspect, audit or examine any and all documents, records, books, correspondence and other evidence, including on-site inspections pertaining to the citizenship of any person performing work on the contract, or take any other reasonable steps that are necessary to determine whether a contractor is complying with the provisions of the contract required pursuant to the terms of § 5-912.02.
C. 
The Controller shall notify the head of the department or agency responsible for administering the contract if the Controller suspects that there has been a breach of a provision in the contract required pursuant to § 5-912.02.
If any contract is terminated pursuant to § 5-912.02D, the head of the department or agency administering the contract shall report the termination to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor agency.
A. 
The County shall not deem a contractor, subcontractor, or entity to which a County subsidy is provided to be in material breach of a contract if such entity establishes that it has complied with the employment verification provisions prescribed by federal law and the e-verification requirement prescribed by this article.
B. 
When investigating a complaint, performing an audit, or otherwise enforcing the requirements of this article, the County shall not attempt independently to make a final determination on whether an employee is authorized to work in the United States, recognizing that any such determination must be made by federal officials in accordance with federal law.
C. 
A contractor or entity to which a County subsidy is provided that establishes that it has complied in good faith with the employment verification requirements set forth in federal law and the e-verification requirements set forth in this article shall, in any action to enforce the requirements of this article, have an affirmative defense that the employer did not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien.
D. 
Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring a contractor or entity to which a County subsidy is provided to violate any terms of participation in the e-verification program.
Nothing contained within this article shall be construed to create any private right of action for enforcement of its provisions or to authorize any person to file suit to recover damages or seek equitable relief for any violation of the terms of this article.