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The following definitions shall apply to this Article:
A. “Abusive Forms of Child Labor” means work performed by a person under the age of 18 when the person does not voluntarily seek the work or the person is threatened with physical, mental or emotional harm for nonperformance. It includes work performed by a person in violation of any applicable law of the country of manufacture or assembly governing the minimum age of employment, compulsory education, or occupational health and safety. It also includes the use of a person under the age of 18 for illicit activities, in particular for the production or trafficking of illicit drugs or for prostitution.
B. “Contract” means an agreement to procure equipment, goods, materials or supplies to the City. Contract includes, but is not limited to, the procurement of garments, uniforms, foot apparel, and related accessories.
C. “Contractor” means a person, partnership, corporation or other entity which has a contract with the City.
D. “Foreign convict or forced labor” shall have the meaning as in Section 1307 of Title 19 of the United States Code.
E. “DAA” means the Designated Administrative Agency which for this Article is the Department of General Services.
F. “Procurement” means City purchasing or renting of equipment, goods, materials or supplies.
G. “Slave labor” means any form of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of persons, debt bondage, serfdom, forced or compulsory labor, or forced or compulsory recruitment of persons below the age of 18 for use in armed conflict.
H. “Subcontractor” means a person, partnership, corporation or other entity which enters into a contract with a contractor for performance of some or all of the City contracted work.
I. “Sweatshop labor” means work performed by a person employed by a contractor or subcontractor which has habitually violated laws of any applicable jurisdiction governing wages, employee benefits, occupational health and safety, nondiscrimination, or freedom of association.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,291, Eff. 1-1-05.
Prior to receiving a contract, a contractor shall sign under oath the City’s Contractor Code of Conduct. The City’s Contractor Code of Conduct shall be developed by the DAA and shall describe the purposes of the Article as stated in Section 10.43. The Contractor Code of Conduct shall also require a contractor to promise the following:
A. To comply with all applicable wage, health, labor, environmental, and safety laws, legal guarantees of freedom of association, building and fire codes, and laws and ordinances relating to workplace and employment discrimination.
B. To comply with all human and labor rights and labor obligations that are imposed by treaty or law on the country in which the equipment, supplies, goods or materials are made or assembled, including but not limited to abusive forms of child labor, slave labor, foreign convict or forced labor, or sweatshop labor.
C. To take good faith measures to ensure that, to the best of the contractor’s knowledge, the contractor’s subcontractors also comply with the City’s Contractor Code of Conduct.
D. For contracts involving the procurement of garments, uniforms, foot apparel, and related accessories, to ensure that workers are paid no less than a procurement living wage, meaning for domestic manufacturers a base hourly wage adjusted annually to the amount required to produce, for 2,080 hours worked, an annual income equal to or greater than the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services most recent poverty guideline for a family of three plus an additional 20 percent of the wage level paid either as hourly wages or health benefits. For manufacturing operations in countries other than the United States, the DAA shall establish a procurement living wage which is comparable to the wage for domestic manufacturers as defined above, adjusted to reflect the country’s level of economic development by using the World Bank’s Gross National Income per capita Purchasing Power Parity index.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,291, Eff. 1-1-05.
The DAA shall be responsible for the administration of this Article. The DAA shall issue written instructions on the implementation and ongoing administration of this Article. Such instructions may provide for the delegation of functions to other City departments. All contracts shall include language obligating the contractor to comply with this Article and imposing the enforcement remedies articulated in this Article.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,291, Eff. 1-1-05.
When allegations of violations of this Article are brought to the attention of the DAA, the DAA shall promptly review the allegations and, if confirmed, consider and implement appropriate enforcement action. When determining whether there is a violation of this Article, the DAA shall take into consideration relevant and reliable information including, but not limited to, information provided by the contractor and its subcontractors at the point of manufacturer, assembly or service, reports from reputable national and international organizations, documented media reports, and credible information from local groups and organizations. If the DAA determines that a contractor has violated this Article, the DAA may recommend that the awarding authority take some or all of the following measures:
A. Demand that a contractor or its subcontractor at the point of manufacture, assembly or service provide access to independent human rights monitors.
B. Demand that a contractor or its subcontractor at the point of manufacture, assembly or service provide management and workers with training and best practices guidelines to ensure future compliance with this Article.
C. Retain all monies earned under the contract until compliance with this Article is achieved.
D. Assess contractor with a statutory penalty equal to the greater of $1,000 or 20% of the value of the procured equipment, goods, supplies, or materials.
E. Terminate the contract for breach and pursue any and all remedies available under law.
F. Apply the City’s Contractor Responsibility Ordinance to the contractor.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,291, Eff. 1-1-05.
This Article shall not apply to a contract if to do so would violate or conflict with federal or state law. The DAA may waive compliance with this Article under the following circumstances:
A. The contract is necessary to respond to an emergency that endangers public health or safety and no contractor which is in compliance with this Article is capable of responding to the emergency.
B. The contract is for equipment, supplies, goods, or materials that are available from only one contractor, and that contractor is otherwise qualified and acceptable to the City. Sole-source waivers to this Ordinance shall be approved by a committee with representatives from the Office of the City Administrative Officer, the Department of General Services, and the Chief Legislative Analyst. Any such waiver shall be posted on the website of the Department of General Services.
C. The contract is with another public entity.
D. The requirements of this Article conflict with the terms or conditions of a federal or state grant, subvention or agreement.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,291, Eff. 1-1-05.
Section
10.44 Purpose.
10.44.1 Definitions.
10.44.2 First Source Hiring Procedure.
10.44.3 City Loan or Grant Recipients.
10.44.4 Compliance with the Service Contractor Worker Retention Ordinance.
10.44.5 Designation of a Liaison.
10.44.6 Transfer and Promotion.
10.44.7 Administration.
10.44.8 Enforcement.
10.44.9 Exemptions.
10.44.10 Application of this Article.
10.44.11 No Third Party Beneficiary.
10.44.12 Coexistence with Other Available Relief for Specific Deprivations of Protected Rights.
10.44.13 Intentional Violation.
10.44.14 Severability.
The City awards many contracts to private firms to provide services to the public and to City government. The City also provides grant and loan funding to others for the purpose of economic development or job growth. The City expends grant funds under programs created by the federal and state governments, which promote the goals established for those programs and similar goals of the City. The City intends that the policies underlying this article serve to guide all of these expenditures to the extent allowed by the law.
City service contracts are subject to the City’s Living Wage ordinance and provide covered workers with substantially greater wages and benefits than otherwise required by law. In addition, having the opportunity to work on a City contract affords workers valuable experience that can be used to garner future employment. The City has an interest in expanding the field of competent service workers to address the problems associated with a significant local unemployed, under-employed and unskilled workforce. The City serves this interest by expanding the opportunities that workers have to be referred for employment by City contractors.
The inadequate compensation often paid to service workers who are not subject to the City’s living wage requirements fails to provide those workers with resources sufficient to afford life in Los Angeles. Further, there are many unemployed and under-employed service workers who are interested in performing work on City contracts. Young people constitute a significant portion of the unemployed and under-employed. Experience indicates that unemployment and under-employment contribute to devastating social burdens including a sustained, large population of unskilled workers, increased crime and increased need for costly social services. The City, as a principal provider of social support services, has an interest in promoting an employment environment that protects such limited resources. In creating a program that helps link Contractors with potential service workers, the City serves this interest and provides greater opportunities for employment on service contracts. To further serve this interest, the Library Department and the Department of Recreation and Parks are encouraged to adopt policies consistent with this article.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 179,281, Eff. 12-3-07.
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