[Adopted 9-12-2018 by Res. No. 373-2018]
Albany County hereby re-establishes and clarifies its policy
to promote apprenticeship training as authorized by New York State
Labor Law § 816-b.
To the greatest extent possible, the Albany County Affirmative
Action Plan participation goals should be encouraged so that historically
disadvantaged business enterprises are provided an equal opportunity
to join in constructing the future of Albany County.
The Director of Affirmative Action is hereby directed to review
and update the Albany County Affirmative Action Plan to ensure that
it provides the greatest opportunity to historically disadvantaged
individuals, groups and enterprises.
The Director of Affirmative Action is hereby directed to consider
the contributions of service-disabled veteran business enterprises
and any other disadvantaged business enterprises provided protections
under the laws of New York State and the United States.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any contract to which the County or any of its department
or agencies shall be a signatory which involves the construction,
reconstruction, improvement, rehabilitation, installation, alteration,
renovation, demolition or otherwise providing for any building, facility
or physical structure of any kind with an aggregate value (which shall
mean the total cost of all contracts of the project) in excess of
$250,000.
A contractor or subcontractor which directly employs labor under a construction contract for which an apprenticeship program has been approved by the New York State Commissioner of Labor in accordance with Article 23 of the New York State Labor Law.
Albany County hereby requires any contractor or subcontractor,
at the time of bid date, to have apprenticeship agreements traditionally
and historically appropriate for the type and scope of work to be
performed, which have been registered with, and approved by, the New
York State Commissioner of Labor.
Prior to entering into a construction agreement with Albany
County, a contractor must submit certificates of completion showing
that they, or their sponsor, graduated at least one apprentice from
a state-approved and registered apprenticeship program, in the trade
and/or job title called for within the construction contract, within
a time period immediately preceding the bid date of such project,
the length of said time period to be calculated by adding 24 months
to the specific trade's program length as set forth in the New York
State Prevailing Wage Schedule, except for the trade of "laborer,"
for which the length of the program is hereby defined to be two years.
If a contractor is a signatory to a sponsor, the contractor must submit
to the County a letter from the sponsor verifying its signatory status.
A.
Apprenticeship agreements currently in place as of the effective
date of this article, which are still in probationary status, shall
be exempt from the graduation requirement.
B.
Apprenticeship agreements currently in place as of the effective
date of this article, or those which come into effect thereafter,
which were in probationary status during the period preceding the
specific trade's program length as set forth in the New York State
Prevailing Wage Schedule, shall be exempt from the graduation requirement
for a period measured from the date the apprenticeship program is
registered with the New York State Department of Labor plus the specific
trade's program length plus two years.
It shall be a contractor's responsibility to submit the required
certificates of completion as part of any bid submitted in connection
with a construction contract and to provide to the County department
or agency administering the construction contract the identity of
apprentices who have graduated from their apprenticeship program.
Any contract with Albany County entered into by a contractor
or subcontractor after the effective date of this article which in
the sole discretion of Albany County is deemed not to be in compliance
with this article shall be declared null and void.
If a contractor utilizes a subcontractor on a construction contract,
the contractor shall submit certificates of completion showing that
the subcontractor or the subcontractor's sponsor graduated at least
one apprentice from a state-approved and registered apprenticeship
program, in the trade and/or job title called for within the construction
contract, within a time period immediately preceding the bid date
of such project, the length of said time period to be calculated by
adding 24 months to the specific trade's program length as set forth
in the New York State Prevailing Wage Schedule, except for the trade
of "laborer," for which the length of the program is hereby defined
to be two years. The contractor must submit these certificates at
a time designated by the department or agency administering the construction
contract; but in any event, these forms must be received by the County
prior to a subcontractor beginning work under the contract. If the
subcontractor is a signatory to a sponsor, the contractor must submit
to the County a letter from the sponsor verifying the signatory status.
A.
It shall be the responsibility of the County department or agency
administering a construction contract to verify that a contractor
or subcontractor is a participant in a state-approved and registered
apprenticeship program and to include the submitted certificates of
completion as an attachment to the recommendation for award submitted
with the request for legislative action seeking approval of the award
of work to the contractor.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the County department or agency
administering a construction contract to designate an individual within
that department or agency who shall be responsible for specifically
identifying within a construction contract the trade(s) and/or job
title(s) necessary to perform the construction contract and verifying
the validity of certificates of completion and including same as an
attachment to the recommendation for award submitted with the request
for legislative action seeking approval of the award of work to the
contractor or subcontractor.
C.
It shall be the responsibility of the County Department or agency
administering a construction contract to provide the County's Division
of Affirmative Action with documentation demonstrating that a contractor
or subcontractor has made good-faith efforts pursuant to the Albany
County Affirmative Action Plan (initially established pursuant to
Resolution No. 26 for 1996) to comply with the mandates contained
therein.[1]
The Albany County Division of Purchasing shall promulgate such
rules and regulations as necessary and appropriate for the implementation
and enforcement of any provisions of this article.
This article shall apply to construction contracts advertised
for bids on or after the effective date.
The impact of this article shall be re-evaluated no later than
one year after the date of its adoption to determine if the requirements
imposed by this article present an onerous and/or adverse impact on
the County's finances or otherwise burden the various departments
or the Division of Purchasing.
