N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1020-v: Equal employment opportunity and minority and women owned business enterprise programs

* § 1020-v. Equal employment opportunity and minority and women owned

business enterprise programs. 1. All contracts entered into by the

authority pursuant to this title of whatever nature and all documents

soliciting bids or proposals therefor shall contain or make reference to

the following provisions:

(a) The contractor will not discriminate against employees or

applicants for employment because of race, creed, color, national

origin, sex, age, disability, or marital status, and will undertake or

continue existing programs of affirmative action to ensure that minority

group persons and women are afforded equal opportunity without

discrimination. Such programs shall include, but not be limited to,

recruitment, employment, job assignment, promotion, upgrading, demotion,

transfer, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of

compensation, and selection for training and retraining, including

apprenticeship and on-the-job training.

(b) At the request of the authority, the contractor shall request each

employment agency, labor union, or authorized representative of workers

with which it has a collective bargaining or other agreement or

understanding and which is involved in the performance of the contract

with the authority to furnish a written statement that such employment

agency, labor union or representative shall not discriminate because of

race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or marital

status and that such union or representative will cooperate in the

implementation of the contractor's obligations hereunder.

(c) The contractor shall state, in all solicitations or advertisements

for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor in the

performance of the contract with the authority that all qualified

applicants will be afforded equal employment opportunity without

discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age,

disability or marital status.

(d) The contractor will include the provisions of paragraphs (a)

through (c) of this subdivision in every subcontract or purchase order

in such a manner that such provisions will be binding upon each

subcontractor or vendor as to its work in connection with the contract

with the authority.

2. The authority shall establish measures, procedures and guidelines

to ensure that contractors and subcontractors undertake meaningful

programs to employ and promote qualified minority group members and

women. Such procedures may require after notice in a bid solicitation,

the submission of a minority and women workforce utilization program

prior to the award of any contract, or at any time thereafter, and may

require the submission of compliance reports relating to the operation

and implementation of any workforce utilization program adopted

hereunder. The authority may take appropriate action, including the

impositions of sanctions for non-compliance to effectuate the provisions

of this section and shall be responsible for monitoring compliance with

this title.

3. In the performance of projects pursuant to this title, minority and

women-owned business enterprises shall be given the opportunity for

meaningful participation. The authority shall establish quantifiable

standards and measures and procedures to secure meaningful participation

and identify those contracts and items of work for which minority and

women-owned business enterprises may best bid to actively and

affirmatively promote and assist their participation in projects, so as

to facilitate the award of a fair share of contracts to such

enterprises; provided, however, that nothing in this title shall be

construed to limit the ability of the authority to assure that qualified

minority and women-owned business enterprises may participate in the

program. For purposes hereof, minority business enterprise shall mean

any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by,

or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per

centum of the stock or other voting interest is owned by citizens or

permanent resident noncitizens who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, American

Indian, Pacific islander, or Alaskan native, and such ownership interest

is real, substantial and continuing and has the authority to

independently control the day to day business decisions of the entity

for at least one year; and women-owned business enterprise shall mean

any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by,

or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per

centum of the stock to other voting interests of which is owned by

citizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are women, and such

ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing and has the

authority to independently control the day to day business decisions of

the entity for at least one year.

The provisions of this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the

ability of any minority business enterprise to bid on any contract.

4. In order to implement the requirements and objectives of this

section, the authority shall establish procedures to monitor contractors

compliance with provisions hereof, provide assistance in obtaining

competing qualified minority and women-owned business enterprises to

perform contracts proposed to be awarded, impose contractual sanctions

for non-compliance, and take other appropriate measures to improve the

access of minority and women-owned business enterprises to these

contracts.

* NB There are 2 § 1020-v's