N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1197-q: Authority; affirmative action

§ 1197-q. Authority; affirmative action. 1. All 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 authority, the contractor shall request each

employment agency, labor union, or authorized representative of workers

with which he or she 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. The authority 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. The

authority 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. The authority 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 authority 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 authority 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 authority 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, the authority 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.