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This Chapter shall be known as the “Boston Jobs, Living Wage and Prevailing Wage Ordinance”. The purpose of this Chapter is to assure that employees of vendors who contract with the city to provide services earn an hourly wage that is sufficient for a family of four to live at or above the federal poverty level, and to ensure that city dollars are not used to undercut the prevailing standards that have been attained by building service workers. This Chapter is also designed to maximize access for low and moderate income Bostonians to the jobs that are created, maintained or subsidized through service contracts with the city.
(CBC 1985 24-1; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 1; Ord. 2021 c. 17 §§ 1-2)
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ASSISTANCE. Any grant, loan, tax incentive, bond financing, subsidy or other form of assistance of $100,000 or more realized by or through the authority or approval of the city, including, but not limited to, industrial development bonds, Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) loans and Federal Enhanced Enterprise Community designations awarded after the effective date of this Chapter. The forgiveness of a loan shall be regarded as financial assistance. A loan shall be regarded as financial ASSISTANCE to the extent of any differential between the amount of the loan and the present value of the payments thereunder, discounted over the life of the loan by the applicable federal rate as used in 26 U.S.C. §§ 1274(d) and 7872(f). A recipient of ASSISTANCE shall not be deemed to include leases and subleases.
BENEFICIARY. Any direct recipient of at least $100,000 of assistance provided that the beneficiary is a for-profit employer of at least 25 FTEs or a not-for-profit employer of at least 100 FTEs.
BUILDING SERVICES or BUILDING SERVICE WORK. Work performed in connection with the cleaning and maintenance of buildings and security guard services.
CONTRACTING DEPARTMENT. Any City Department that awards a service contract or covered building service contract.
COVERED BUILDING SERVICE CONTRACT. A contract or subcontract to provide building services to the city.
COVERED BUILDING SERVICE EMPLOYEE.
(1) Any person employed, directly or indirectly, to perform building service work in the performance of a covered building service contract;
(2) Any person employed, directly or indirectly, to perform building service work on covered city-owned property; and
(3) Any person employed, directly or indirectly, to perform building service work on premises that are the subject of a covered lease.
COVERED BUILDING SERVICE VENDOR. An employer providing building services pursuant to a covered building service contract.
COVERED CITY OWNED PROPERTY. Buildings owned by the city.
COVERED EMPLOYEE. A person employed by a covered vendor, other than a covered building service employee, who directly expends or would directly expend his or her time on the service contract with the city or on the service subcontract.
COVERED LEASE. Any agreement whereby the city contracts for, leases or rents commercial office space or commercial office facilities from a non-governmental entity provided the city, whether through a single agreement or multiple agreements, rents no less than 51% of the total square footage of the buildings to which the lease applies.
COVERED LESSEE. Any non-governmental person or entity that contracts for, leases or rents space in covered city owned property from the city.
COVERED LESSOR. Any non-governmental person or entity that enters into a covered lease with the city.
COVERED VENDOR. Any for-profit employer or any not-for-profit employer, other than a covered building service vendor, who employs at least 25 FTEs who has been awarded a service contract or service subcontract after the effective date of this Section. This term does not include beneficiary as herein defined.
DESIGNATED DEPARTMENT. The City Department or Agency, designated by the Mayor, to be responsible for the overall implementation, compliance and enforcement of this Chapter.
FIRST SOURCE HIRING AGREEMENT. A signed agreement between a covered vendor or a beneficiary and a referral agency.
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT (“FTE”). A formula to calculate the number of employee work hours which equal one full-time position. For the purposes of this Chapter, FULL-TIME shall mean the standard number of working hours, between 35 hours and 40 hours per week, that is used by the covered vendor to determine full-time employment.
LIVING WAGE. The rate established by the designated Department as the minimum hourly wage rate that shall be paid to a covered employee by a covered vendor pursuant to the formula set forth in Section 24-6.
LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PERSONS. Persons with an annual income that is less than 80% of median income for the Boston Primary Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area as published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
PERSON. One or more of the following or their Agents, employees, servants, representatives and legal representatives: individuals, corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, associations, labor organizations, educational institutions, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, fiduciaries and all other entities recognized at law by this commonwealth.
REFERRAL AGENCY. Any organized job registry and referral service operated by a not-for-profit organization or union; provided that the not-for-profit organization has the following:
(1) An established community membership base and record of conducting outreach in low and moderate income city communities;
(2) A computerized skills bank where individuals may register for employment and training opportunities;
(3) An established process whereby an employer can post job openings, and where referrals can begin within 48 hours of such posting;
(4) A governing Board comprised of a majority of low and moderate income city residents; or the majority of services provided by the entity are furnished to low and moderate income Boston residents;
(5) A proven track record of nondiscriminatory job placement with respect to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, discharge from the military service or handicap unrelated to job ability; and
(6) Is certified as meeting requirements (1) through (5) above by the Boston Office of Jobs and Community Services.
SERVICE CONTRACT. Any contract, other than a covered building service contract, of at least $50,000 or more awarded to a vendor by the city for the furnishing of services to or for the city. Beginning on July 1, 2002, SERVICE CONTRACT shall mean any contract of at least $25,000 or more awarded to a vendor by the city for the furnishing of services to or for the city.
SERVICE SUBCONTRACT. A subcontract, other than a subcontract for building services, of $25,000 or more awarded to a vendor by a covered vendor; provided the subcontract is paid for by funds from the service contract.
STANDARD COMPENSATION. The hourly rate of pay, benefits and paid leave that shall be provided to a covered building service employee pursuant to the formula set forth in Subsection 24-7.6.
VENDOR AGREEMENT. A written agreement between the city and any covered vendor, other than a covered building service vendor, that is executed at the time a service contract is signed with the city or a subcontract is signed with a covered vendor.
YOUTH PROGRAM. Any city, commonwealth or federally funded program which employs youth, as defined by city, commonwealth or federal guidelines, during the summer, or as part of a school to work program, or in other related seasonal or part-time program.
(CBC 1985 24-2; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 2; Ord. 2001 c. 8; Ord. 2002 c. 9; Ord. 2021 c. 17 §§ 3 - 9)
The following types of assistance, service contracts and subcontracts shall be exempt from the provisions of this Section:
(A) Construction contracts awarded by the city that are subject to the commonwealth’s Prevailing Wage Law, being M.G.L. Chapter 149, Sections 26—27H;
(B) Assistance or contracts awarded to youth programs, as defined in this Section; provided that the contract is for stipends to youth in the program;
(C) Assistance or contracts awarded to work-study or cooperative educational programs; provided that the assistance or contract is for stipends to students in the programs; and
(D) Assistance and contracts awarded to vendors who provide services to the city and are awarded to vendors who provide trainees a stipend or wage as part of a job training program and provides the trainees with additional services, which may include, but are not limited to, room and board, case management and job readiness services; and provided further that the trainees do not replace current city funded positions.
(CBC 1985 24-3.2; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 3)
Covered vendors and beneficiaries of assistance must certify in an affidavit in a form approved by the designated Department and provided by the contracting Department and signed by a Principal Officer of the covered vendor or beneficiary of assistance, that one of the exemptions herein applies to them before they can be considered exempt. The covered vendor or the beneficiary of assistance shall submit the affidavit to the contracting Department who shall forward a copy to the designated Department and the Living Wage Advisory Committee.
(CBC 1985 24-3.3; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 3) Penalty, see § 24-11
(A) General waiver.
(1) Waivers may be granted by the designated Department where application of this Chapter to a particular form of assistance, a service contract or subcontract, a covered building service contract, a covered lease or a lease of covered city owned property violates a specific commonwealth or federal statutory, regulatory or constitutional provision or provisions. All general waiver requests shall include the following:
(a) The assistance, service contract or subcontract, covered building service contract, covered lease or lease of covered city owned property to which this Chapter applies;
(b) The conflicting statutory, regulatory or constitutional provision or provisions that makes compliance with this Chapter unlawful, and a copy of each such provision; and
(c) An explanation of how compliance with this Chapter would violate the cited provision or provisions, and the consequences that would result if this violation were to occur.
(2) A general waiver request shall be submitted directly to the designated Department. The designated Department shall forward a copy of all requests to the Living Wage Advisory Committee.
(B) Hardship waiver.
(1) The contracting Departments shall monitor, and as necessary, recommend to the designated Department, individual or group exemptions necessary in cases in which compliance with this Chapter would cause undue economic hardship. Such waivers shall be subject to the designated Department’s approval after having held a public hearing on the request.
(2) All hardship waiver requests shall include the following:
(a) The service contract or service subcontract to which this Chapter applies;
(b) The lower wage paid by the covered vendor, and
(c) A detailed explanation of how the payment of a living wage will cause undue economic hardship including supporting financial statements.
(3) All hardship waiver requests shall be forwarded to the Living Wage Advisory Committee. Hardship waivers under this Section shall not be applicable to beneficiaries of assistance.
(CBC 1985 24-3.4; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 3; Ord. 2021 c. 17 §§ 11 - 12)
(A) All covered vendors and all beneficiaries of assistance (hereinafter referred to as “the employer” for the purposes of this Section) shall sign a first source hiring agreement with one or more referral agencies or one or more Boston One Stop Career Centers which shall include the following:
(1) Prior to announcing or advertising an employment position for work which shall be performed as a result of a service contract, service subcontract or assistance created either as a result of a vacancy of an existing position or of a new employment position, the employer shall notify the referral agency about the position, including a general description and the employer’s minimum requirements for qualified applicants for such position;
(2) The employer shall not make such public announcement or advertisement for a period of five business days after notification to the referral agency of the availability of such position. Such five-day period is hereinafter referred to as the “advance notice period”;
(3) The referral agency shall maintain a database of job opportunities subject to this Chapter and shall provide information on such job opportunities to all city residents who receive services;
(4) The advance notice period shall be waived if the referral agency has no qualified candidates to refer to the covered vendor or beneficiary;
(5) The referral agency or career center shall institute a tracking system and record which applicants were interviewed, which applicants were not interviewed, and which applicants were hired for the positions;
(6) The agreement does not require the employer to comply with these procedures if it fills the job vacancy or newly created position by transfer or promotion from existing staff or from a file of qualified applicants previously referred by the referral agency or career center; and
(7) The agreement shall not require the employer to hire any applicant referred under the terms of this agreement.
(B) Beneficiaries who receive assistance from the city in the amount of $1,000,000 or more in any 12-month period shall be required to comply with this Section for five years from the date such assistance reaches the $1,000,000 threshold. Beneficiaries receiving less than $1,000,000 but at least $100,000 of assistance in any 12-month period shall be required to comply with this Section for one year.
(CBC 1985 24-4; Ord. 1998 c. 5 § 4) Penalty, see § 24-11
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