[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of Trustees of the
Charter Township of Pittsfield 2-25-2015 by Ord. No. 317 as Ch. 21 of the 2015
Pittsfield Charter Township Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Personnel — See Ch. 20.
A.
The Township Board of Trustees finds as follows:
(1)
Payment of higher wages is associated with greater business investment
in employee training, higher productivity, and lower employee turnover,
and this chapter is intended to promote better quality and reliability
of services procured for the Township or provided to Township inhabitants
by contractors and grantees by promoting higher productivity and increasing
retention of employees working on Township contracts and grants;
(2)
The creation of jobs that pay wages high enough to support families
above the poverty level promotes the prosperity and general welfare
of the Township and its residents, increases consumer spending with
local businesses, and improves the economic welfare and security of
affected employees;
(3)
Jobs with Township contractors, recipients of tax abatements, or
certain other grantees should pay wages that permit the employees
of such contractors and grantees and their families to live above
the poverty level and should include employee health care benefits
whenever possible;
(4)
According to a report entitled "Michigan's Families: Poor Despite
Work" issued in November 1998 by the Michigan League for Human Services,
from the late-1970s through the mid-1990s, the State of Michigan experienced
a 152% increase in the number of working families that were poor -
exceeding increases in all other states - while nearly tripling the
48% increase experienced nationally;
(5)
The Michigan League for Human Services found in its April 1998 report,
"Economic Self-Sufficiency: A Michigan Benchmark," that a family of
three required at that time, on average, $2,724 a month to pay for
housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, clothing,
household supplies, a telephone, and taxes and this was at the time
equivalent to an hourly wage of $15.83 for households with a single
worker and $7.92 for households with two workers;
(6)
The Michigan County Social Services Association found in its 2000
"market basket survey" that a "minimal needs" budget for a family
of three in Michigan required $15,222 per year, while not including
anything for health care benefit costs and assuming rent of only $465
a month. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ann Arbor Metropolitan
Statistical Area (which included Pittsfield Township) for 2000 was
$717 a month, and the fair market rent for a three-bedroom apartment
was $940 a month. This means that a family of three requires at least
$18,246 a year to meet a minimal needs budget in this area, not including
health care. This converts to an hourly wage of $8.77 for a full-time,
full-year employee;
(7)
Federal and state minimum wages, currently set at only $5.15 an hour,
mean that a full-time, full-year minimum wage employee earns only
$206 a week, or $10,712 a year, while the 2000 [1999] United States
Department of Health and Human Services federal poverty [level] guideline
was $11,250 for a two-person family, $14,150 a year for a three-person
family, and $17,050 a year for a four-person family and income near
the poverty level is not a desirable standard of living sufficient
to meet the subsistence needs of a family in the Township and its
surrounding communities;
(8)
Requiring manufacturers, outside service vendors/contractors, and
certain other grantees that receive public dollars in the form of
tax abatements, service contracts, and other grants of financial assistance
to pay their affected employees a living wage will be in the best
interest of the Township, the affected employees and their families,
as well as Washtenaw County and the State of Michigan, as a whole;
and
(9)
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the Township's spending
and procurement powers as authorized under Article 7 of the 1963 Constitution
and it provides for payment of living wages only to employees of covered
employers; further, this chapter does not establish any generally
applicable Township minimum wage, or affect the wages paid by any
business or individual that chooses not to provide services covered
by this chapter to the Township, or does not accept Township tax abatements
or grants falling within this chapter's terms.
B.
Therefore, this chapter is hereby ordained by the Township to ensure
that outside vendors/contractors and manufacturers who receive public
monies through service contracts, tax abatements, and certain other
grants of financial assistance pay their affected employees a "living
wage" as defined herein.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
A person or entity that has a contract with the Township
primarily for the furnishing of services (as opposed to the purchasing
or leasing of goods or property) where the total amount of the contract
or contracts exceeds $10,000 for any twelve-month period, including
any subcontractors of such contractor.
An "employee" as defined in this § 21-2 below, who is employed by a covered employer.
A contractor/vendor or a grantee of covered financial assistance that has not been granted an exemption from this chapter pursuant to § 21-7 of this chapter.
A person who is employed on a full-time basis (defined for
purposes of this chapter as more than 21 hours per week) on a year-round
(i.e., nonseasonal) basis, and not on a probationary basis. Also,
for the purposes of this chapter, "employee" does not include on-call
public employees or persons otherwise exempted or excluded by other
provisions of this chapter.
Providing health care benefits for employees (or employees
and their dependents) at employer cost or making an employer contribution
toward the purchase of such health care benefits for employees (or
employees and their dependents), 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 any employee payment or
contribution toward health care shall not exceed $0.50 an hour for
the average workweek for such employee.
Any form of covered financial assistance as set forth under the definition of "grantee" as defined in this § 21-2 of this chapter.
A person or entity that is a recipient of any financial assistance
from the Township in the form of any federal or state grant program
administered by the Township, revenue bond financing, tax increment
financing, tax abatement, tax credit, direct grant, or any other form
of financial assistance, including any contractors, subcontractors,
or leaseholders of the grantee at the subsidized site(s), that exceeds
$10,000 for any twelve-month period.
Has the meaning provided in § 21-4.
One or more of the following or their agents, employees,
servants, representatives, and legal representatives; individuals,
corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, associations, labor organizations,
educational institutions, mutual companies, joint-stock companies,
trusts, unincorporated associations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy,
receivers, fiduciaries, and all other entities recognized at law by
this state.
A.
This chapter shall apply to any person that is a contractor/vendor
or grantee as defined herein that employs or contracts with five or
more individuals. Provided, however, that a nonprofit contractor/vendor
or nonprofit grantee shall have at least 10 or more employees and
a contract or grant that exceeds $10,000 in any twelve-month period
in order for this chapter to apply to it.
B.
The chapter shall apply to any grant, service contract, or subcontract
or other form of covered financial assistance as provided by this
chapter that is awarded or entered into after the effective date of
the chapter. After the effective date of the chapter, entering into
an agreement for an extension or renewal of any grant, contract, or
subcontract or other form of financial assistance as defined herein
shall be conditioned upon compliance with this chapter.
A.
Subject to the provisions of this § 21-4, every covered employer as defined in § 21-2 shall pay its covered employees a living wage as established in this chapter.
B.
The amount of the living wage established in this section shall be
adjusted to reflect changes to the living wage established by the
Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. The adjustment shall occur
and be published by the Township Clerk within 60 days of any adjustments
to the Washtenaw County Living Wage.
A.
Any contractor/vendor receiving a service contract or contracts covered
by this chapter and any grantee receiving financial assistance for
providing services to the public (or a portion thereof) shall pay
any of its employees performing work on each such contract or grant
a living wage as defined herein.
B.
Any covered employer receiving a grant of financial assistance from the Township as defined in § 21-3, including revenue bond financing, tax increment financing, tax abatement, tax credit, direct grant, or any other form of financial assistance, shall pay all employees working in the workplace or location that is receiving or benefiting from such grant a living wage as defined herein.
A.
The Township shall require, as a condition of any contract or grant
covered by this chapter, that the affected covered employer agree
to the payment of a living wage as a condition or entering into or
renewal of said contract or grant. The affected covered employer shall
agree to post a notice regarding the applicability of this chapter
in any work place or other location in which employees or other person
contracted for employment are working. The affected covered employer
shall agree to provide payroll records or other documentation, as
deemed necessary by the Township to the Township Clerk within 10 business
days from receipt of the Township's request.
B.
The Township shall have the right to modify, terminate, and/or seek
specific performance of any contract or grant with an affected covered
employer from any court of competent jurisdiction, if it is determined
after a public hearing, that based upon the preponderance of evidence,
the affected covered employer has not complied with this chapter.
The Township Board of Trustees, after conducting a public hearing,
may grant a partial or complete exemption from the requirements of
this chapter, if it determines one of the following:
A.
The application of the chapter would violate federal, state or local
law(s); and
B.
The application of the chapter would cause economic harm to a nonprofit
contractor/vendor or grantee in a fashion that would result in the
harm created by the application of the chapter clearly outweighing
the benefits of applying the chapter, when the affected nonprofit
entity has provided a plan to come into conformity with this chapter
within three years, and to the extent necessary to avoid any such
harm.
A.
No affected covered employer shall reduce the compensation, wages, fringe benefits, or leave available to any covered employee or person contracted for employment in order to pay the living wage required by this chapter. No covered employer or potentially covered employer shall reduce the hours of work, other established working conditions, or terms of employment as previously practiced for any covered employee or potentially covered employee in order to avoid coverage under this chapter. Any action in violation of this subsection shall be deemed a violation of this chapter subject to the remedies of § 21-6B.
B.
Nothing in this chapter shall conflict with or supersede any agreement
regarding the provision of health care to Township employees.
C.
No employee covered by a federal, state, or local law requiring the
payment of prevailing wages shall be covered by this chapter.
D.
This chapter shall not be construed to apply to any person or entity
that is not a beneficiary of financial assistance under this chapter
solely because the person or entity is a tax-exempt religious or charitable
organization under state or federal law.
E.
This chapter shall not be applicable to the establishment and/or
continuation of the following if developed specifically for high school
and/or college students:
