2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 8-D - Rensselaer County Water and Sewer Authority › 1199-V - Authority, Water Board and City to Take Affirmative Action.

§  1199-v. 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.