Bill Text: NY A09089 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes a registration system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work projects in order to better enforce existing labor laws and regulations in the public works industry.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-10 - print number 9089a [A09089 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A09089-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9089--A IN ASSEMBLY January 25, 2016 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing a registra- tion system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work projects in order to better enforce existing labor laws and regu- lations in the public works industry The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 220-i to 2 read as follows: 3 § 220-i. Registration system for contractors and subcontractors. 1. 4 Definitions as used in this section: 5 a. "Contractor" means a person, partnership, association, joint stock 6 company, trust, corporation, or other legal business entity or successor 7 thereof who enters into a contract which is subject to the provisions of 8 this article, and includes any subcontractor or lower tier subcontractor 9 of a contractor as defined herein. 10 b. "Bureau" means the department of labor's bureau of public works. 11 2. No contractor shall bid on any contract for public work subject to 12 the provisions of this article, unless the contractor is registered 13 pursuant to this section. No contractor shall list a subcontractor in a 14 bid proposal for the contract unless the subcontractor is registered 15 pursuant to this section at the time the bid is made. 16 3. a. A contractor shall register in writing with the department on a 17 form provided by the commissioner. The form shall require the following 18 information: 19 i. The name, principal business address and telephone number of the 20 contractor. 21 ii. Whether the contractor is a corporation, partnership, sole 22 proprietorship, or other form of business entity. 23 iii. The name and address of each person with a financial interest in 24 the contractor and the percentage interest, except that if the contrac- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10602-02-6A. 9089--A 2 1 tor is a publicly-traded corporation, the contractor shall supply the 2 names and addresses of the corporation's officers. 3 iv. The contractor's tax identification number and unemployment insur- 4 ance registration number. 5 v. Whether the contractor has any outstanding wage assessments against 6 it, pursuant to this article. 7 vi. Whether the contractor has been debarred under New York or federal 8 law. 9 vii. Whether the contractor has been debarred pursuant to the laws of 10 any other state. 11 viii. Any past violations of labor laws found by any governmental 12 entity. 13 ix. Whether or not the contractor is associated or a signatory to an 14 apprenticeship program under article 23 of this chapter. 15 x. Any other relevant and appropriate information as determined by the 16 commissioner. 17 b. At the time of registration, and subsequently upon request, the 18 contractor shall submit to the commissioner documentation demonstrating 19 that the contractor has worker's compensation insurance coverage for all 20 workers as required by law. 21 4. a. The contractor shall pay an initial annual non-refundable regis- 22 tration fee of three hundred dollars to the commissioner. The non-re- 23 fundable registration fee for the second annual registration shall be 24 three hundred dollars. Upon successful completion of two consecutive 25 years of registration, a contractor may elect to register for a two-year 26 period and pay a non-refundable registration fee of five hundred 27 dollars. 28 b. A contractor who is performing public work on the effective date of 29 this act shall submit the registration application form and fee to the 30 commissioner within thirty days of the effective date of this act. 31 c. The bureau may, in its discretion, determine a contractor is unfit 32 to be registered pursuant to this section. A contractor deemed unfit 33 pursuant to this section shall be provided with written notice from the 34 department and shall be afforded the opportunity to appeal such determi- 35 nation. 36 5. Upon receipt of the fee, form and documentation required by this 37 section, the commissioner shall issue a certificate of registration to 38 the contractor. A registration certificate shall be valid for one calen- 39 dar year from the date of registration. Registrations shall be renewed 40 not less than thirty days before the expiration date of the immediately 41 preceding registration. 42 6. Each contractor shall, after the bid is made and prior to the 43 awarding of the contract, submit to the public entity the certificates 44 of registration for all subcontractors listed in the bid proposal. 45 Applications for registration shall not be accepted as a substitute for 46 a certificate of registration for the purposes of this section. 47 7. a. A contractor who: 48 i. willfully hinders or delays the commissioner in the performance of 49 his duties in the enforcement of this act; 50 ii. fails to make, keep, and preserve any records as required under 51 this article; 52 iii. falsifies any such record, or refuses to make any such record 53 accessible to the commissioner upon demand; 54 iv. refuses to furnish a sworn statement of such records or any other 55 information required for the enforcement of this act to the commissioner 56 upon demand;A. 9089--A 3 1 v. pays or agrees to pay wages at a rate less than the rate prescribed 2 by this article; or 3 vi. otherwise violates any provision of this section, shall be guilty 4 of a class A misdemeanor and may be assessed a civil penalty of up to 5 fifty thousand dollars. 6 b. As an alternative to or in addition to sanctions provided by this 7 article, the commissioner may, after providing the contractor with 8 notice of any alleged violation of this act, and with an opportunity to 9 request a hearing before the commissioner: 10 i. deny renewal, revoke or suspend the registration of a contractor 11 for a period of not more than five years; or 12 ii. require a contractor, as a condition of initial or continued 13 registration, to provide a surety bond payable to the state. The surety 14 bond shall be for the benefit of workers damaged by any failure of a 15 contractor to pay wages or benefits pursuant to or otherwise comply with 16 the provisions of this article. The surety bond shall be in the amount 17 and form that the commissioner deems necessary for the protection of the 18 contractor's workers, but shall not exceed ten thousand dollars per 19 worker. 20 c. The bureau may order the immediate suspension of a contractor's 21 registration, prior to a formal hearing on the revocation of the 22 contractor's registration pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision, 23 if the bureau determines that ordering an immediate suspension is in the 24 public interest and provided that the contractor is afforded an opportu- 25 nity to contest the immediate suspension in the following manner: 26 i. The bureau shall notify the contractor in writing of the immediate 27 revocation and the contractor's rights under this paragraph. 28 ii. The contractor may notify the bureau of its request for an oppor- 29 tunity to be heard and contest the immediate suspension in writing with- 30 in seventy-two hours of its receipt of immediate suspension notifica- 31 tion. 32 iii. Within seven business days of receipt of the notification from 33 the contractor pursuant to subparagraph ii of this paragraph, the bureau 34 shall grant the contractor a hearing to contest the immediate suspen- 35 sion. The bureau shall permit the contractor to present evidence at the 36 hearing. 37 iv. The bureau shall issue a written decision within five business 38 days of the hearing either upholding or reversing the contractor's imme- 39 diate suspension. The decision shall include the grounds for upholding 40 or reversing the contractor's immediate suspension. 41 v. If the contractor disagrees with the written decision, the contrac- 42 tor may appeal the decision to the commissioner. 43 d. If the bureau intends to impose an immediate suspension as set 44 forth in paragraph c of this subdivision, the bureau shall provide the 45 contractor with a notice of intent to suspend and the contractor may 46 request an administrative hearing before the commission within seventy- 47 two hours of the receipt of the notice of intent to suspend in order to 48 present evidence expeditiously in support of the position that the 49 suspension should not be imposed. The suspension shall not take effect 50 prior to the expiration of the seventy-two hour opportunity to request a 51 hearing. If such a request is not made, the suspension shall take effect 52 at the end of the seventy-two hour period. If such a request is made, 53 the suspension shall take effect only after the commissioner conducts 54 the hearing. 55 e. If the bureau orders the immediate suspension of a contractor's 56 registration pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision, the violationA. 9089--A 4 1 shall have no effect on the registration of any contractor or subcon- 2 tractor, regardless of tier, in the contractual chain with the suspended 3 contractor. 4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 5 have become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of labor 6 shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to carry 7 out the provisions of this act.
