This article shall be known as the "Albany County MacBride Principles
Contract Compliance Law."
Justice and peace in Northern Ireland are matters of grave concern
to the people of Albany County.
Northern Ireland was created in 1920 when its six counties were
partitioned from the rest of Ireland.
Northern Ireland has a history of institutionalized governmental
and private employment discrimination against Catholics, which has
been documented.
The unemployment rate for Catholics in Northern Ireland is 2 1/2
times the unemployment rate for Protestants.
In some predominantly Catholic areas, such as West Belfast,
the unemployment rate for adult males is as high as 80%.
Such discrimination contributes to the strife and tragedy that
continues in Northern Ireland.
The MacBride Principles of Fair Employment are nine principles
designed to foster an end to employment discrimination in Northern
Ireland.
The Assembly, Senate and Governor of New York State have recognized
the MacBride Principles' efficacy and importance to our citizens by
enacting state laws that require private companies doing business
with New York State to adhere to the MacBride Principles.
At least 10 other states and many other local governments throughout
the United States have also enacted legislation implementing the MacBride
Principles.
The State of New York and the City of New York have each enacted MacBride Principles contract compliance laws that are essentially the same as that which is set forth in §
9-4 of this article.
It is in the interest of Albany County that contractors who
do business with the County and who also do business in Northern Ireland
abide by the MacBride Principles.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
MacBRIDE PRINCIPLES
Those principles relating to nondiscrimination in employment
and freedom of workplace opportunity which require employers in Northern
Ireland to:
A.
Increase the representation of individuals from underrepresented
religious groups in the work force, including managerial, supervisory,
administrative, clerical and technical jobs;
B.
Take steps to promote adequate security for the protection of
employees from underrepresented religious groups, both at the workplace
and while travelling to and from work;
C.
Ban provocative religious and political emblems from the workplace;
D.
Publicly advertise all job openings and make special recruitment
efforts to attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups;
E.
Establish layoff, recall and termination procedures which do
not in practice favor a particular religious group;
F.
Abolish all job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions and
differential employment criteria which discriminate on the basis of
religion;
G.
Develop training programs that will prepare substantial numbers
of current employees from underrepresented religious groups for skilled
jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and the creation
of new programs to train, upgrade and improve the skills of workers
from underrepresented religious groups;
H.
Establish procedures to assess, identify and actively recruit
employees from underrepresented religious groups with potential for
further advancement; and
I.
Appoint a senior management staff member to oversee affirmative
action efforts and develop a timetable to ensure their full implementation.