N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1045-x: Authority, water board and city to take affirmative action

§ 1045-x. Authority, water board and city to take affirmative action.

1. Each contracting agency which awards contracts for design,

construction, services or materials for water projects authorized by

this title shall require that such contracts and 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 programs of affirmative action to insure that minority group

persons and women are afforded equal employment opportunity without

discrimination. Such action shall be taken with reference, but not be

limited to recruitment, employment, job assignment, promotion,

upgrading, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, rates of pay or

other forms of compensation, and selections for training or retraining,

including apprenticeship and on-the-job training.

(b) At the request of the contracting agency, the contractor shall

request each employment agency, labor union, or authorized

representative of workers with which he has a collective bargaining or

other agreement or understanding, 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 will state, in all solicitations or advertisements

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

of the contract 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 working connection with a contract.

2. Each contracting agency shall establish procedures and guidelines

to ensure that contractors and subcontractors undertake programs of

affirmative action as required by this section. Such procedures may

require, after notice in a bid solicitation, the submission of an

affirmative action 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 affirmative action

program adopted hereunder. Such procedures and guidelines shall be

consistent with the guidelines promulgated by the office of federal

contract compliance programs of the United States department of labor

pursuant to presidential executive order eleven thousand two hundred

forty-six, as amended, and any state statutory or regulatory

requirements. A contracting agency shall, in the promulgation of

procedures and guidelines pursuant to this section, cooperate with any

federal, state or local agency established for the purpose of

implementing affirmative action compliance programs.

3. Any contracting agency empowered to award contracts for design,

construction, services or materials shall seek meaningful participation

in the performance of contracts by minority business enterprises and

shall establish measures and procedures to identify those contracts and

items of work for which minority business enterprises may best bid to

actively and affirmatively promote and assist their participation so as

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

enterprises. 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 of which is owned by citizens or

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

Indian or women, and such ownership interest is real, substantial and

continuing. 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 the implementation of subdivisions two and three of this

section, the contracting agency shall consider compliance by any

contractor with the requirements of any federal, state or local law

concerning minority business enterprises or equal employment

opportunity, which may effectuate the requirements of this section. If

the contracting agency determines that by virtue of the imposition of

the requirements of any such law, in respect to contracts affected by

this section, that the provisions thereof duplicate or conflict with

such law, the contracting agency shall waive the applicability of this

section to the extent of such duplication or conflict.

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

section, contracting agencies shall be responsible for monitoring the

contractors' compliance with the provisions hereof, for advising

contractors on the availability of competing qualified minority business

enterprises to perform contracts proposed to be awarded and for making

recommendations to contractors to improve the access of minority

business enterprises to such contracts.