Dade County, FL Living Wage

Type: Ordinance

Status: Adopted on 3/18/99

Source File: http://www.solidarity.com/LivingWage/Ordinanc.htm

Text:

ORD. AMDT. 14, 1998-99
AMENDING CHAPTERS 15 and 25 OF THE DANE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, RELATING TO LIVING WAGE

The County Board of Supervisors of the County of Dane does ordain as follows:

ARTICLE 1. Unless otherwise expressly stated herein, all references to section and chapter numbers are to those of the Dane County Code of Ordinances.

ARTICLE 2. Section 15.275 is created to read as follows:

15.275 LIVING WAGE REVIEW COUNCIL.
(1) The Dane County Living Wage Review Council shall consist of seven members appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county board. A majority of the members shall be persons with an interest in and knowledge of business, labor or economics, or any combination thereof, and may include service contractors. Not more than three members shall be County Board Supervisors.

(2) Members shall serve staggered three-year terms. County board members of the council who are not re-elected or who resign during the term of office as a supervisor shall likewise cease to serve on the council as of the date of leaving the office of county board supervisor.

(2a) Transitional provision. The county executive shall designate the initial terms of appointees so that two terms expire in each of the first two years and three in the third year. Thereafter, all appointments to successor terms shall be for three year terms except that appointments for unexpired terms shall be for the balance of the term only.

(3) The council shall:

(a) Review the implementation of the Living Wage ordinance.

(b) Develop recommendations on whether and to what extent the living wage should be adjusted for employers that do not provide group health insurance coverage to their employees working more than 25 hours per week.

(c) Develop recommendations on whether any current exemptions of the ordinance should be repealed or any new exemptions are appropriate given the goals of the ordinance to provide an adequate wage to workers supporting themselves through employment with county contractors.

(d) Develop recommendations on future adjustments to the living wage level beyond the amounts specified in s. 25.015 (1) (c).

(e) Develop recommendations on ways in which to consider the value of room and board where such is provided by the employer, for the purpose of computing wages paid by the employer to the benefiting worker.

(f) Review the cost of living in Dane County compared to national figures to determine if it is reasonable to use national poverty level figures or some other measure as the basis for county living wage requirements.

(g) Develop recommendations for specific measures to review the impact of the living wage requirement on the affected workforce and contracted or provided services.

(4) The council shall develop its recommendations on health insurance by July 1, 1999 for consideration in county budget preparation and ordinance revision to take effect January 1, 2000. The council shall develop its recommendations on future adjustments to the living wage and on inclusion of the value of room and board by July 1, 2000 for consideration in county budget preparation and possible ordinance revision to take effect January 1, 2001.

(5) The department of administration shall provide staff support for the council, with assistance from other county departments, as necessary.

(6) Members shall be paid per diems and mileage.

ARTICLE 3. Section 25.015 is created to read as follows:
25.015 Living WAGE REQUIREMENT.

(1) As used in this section,

(a) Board means the contract compliance hearing board as defined in s. 19.51(5), D. C. Ords.

(b) Contractor means a person or entity having a service contract with the County of Dane.

(c) Family member includes mother, father, grandparents, spouse, children, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son/daughter-in-law, member of alternative family and grandchildren.

(d) Service contract means any contract with the county, for the provision of services to any county department or agency involving the following types of personal services: general labor, clerical work, janitorial work, security (including weapons screening), food service, human services contracts (including transportation), and personal care and home care work paid with county-administered funds for persons with disabilities and the frail elderly, whether the workers are employed directly by the consumer or by a third party. The purchasing agent shall review each bid specification or request for proposals and make a determination as to whether the proposed contract will constitute a service contract. Service contract includes subcontracts but does not include any contract, whether or not a subcontract, which:

1. Involves only the purchase of goods;

2. Is a professional service contract;

3. Is a department of public works contract regulated under ch. 40;

4. Has a value of less than $5,000;

6. Involves services provided by student interns;

7. Involves services provided by persons with disabilities working in employment programs where the employer holds a current sub-minimum wage certificate issued by the U. S. Department of Labor or where such a certificate could be issued but for the fact that the employer is paying a wage higher than the minimum wage;

8. Is a contract in existence prior to [clerk to insert effective date of this amendment] through the duration of its term;

9. Is a department of human services contract for residential services for individual clients purchased at an established per bed rate;

10. Is a contract with a school district, a municipality or other unit of government;

11. Is a contract in which compensation is provided to a family member under a department of human services program; or

12. Is a grant, project or contract as to which federal or state law imposes the obligation to pay prevailing wages; or

13. Is a grant, contract or project as to which labor agreements otherwise require the payment of a wage in excess of the living wage.

(e) Subcontractor means a person or entity having an arrangement with a contractor pursuant to which the subcontractor furnishes services for the benefit of the County of Dane and which arrangement would constitute a service contract as defined herein if entered into directly with the county.

(f) Living wage means an hourly wage equal to 100% of the poverty level divided by 2080.

1. The living wage shall first take effect January 1, 2000 except that it shall be in effect as of January 1, 1999 for human services department purchase-of-service providers covered by this ordinance.

2. As used in this paragraph (f), 'poverty level' means an annual income equal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' then most recently published poverty guideline for a family of four.

(2) This section applies to services provided pursuant to a contract or grant by:

(a) All employees of an employer who has entered into a service contract of $5,000 or more, provided that this section applies only to those employees who are directly involved in providing the contracted services;

(b) All employees of employers who are beneficiaries of economic development assistance from the county worth $5,000 or more; and

(c) The county's own employees except limited term employees of the exposition center.

(d) Tipped employees, employees paid on commission, and others whose compensation consists of more than hourly wages shall be paid an hourly wage which, when coupled with the other compensation, will at least equal the living wage.

(3) The living wage requirements of this section do not apply to time an employee spends in employer-authorized "sleep time" at the work site.

(4) Every service contract and every grant of economic development assistance entered into by the county shall contain the following notice: "The contractor [or grant beneficiary] agrees to pay all workers employed by the contractor [or grant beneficiary] in the performance of this contract [or grant], whether on a full-time or part-time basis, the living wage of not less than [purchasing agent to insert current living wage in accordance with this section]. The contractor [or grant beneficiary] agrees to make available for county inspection the contractor's payroll records relating to employees providing services on or under this contract or subcontract [or grant]. If any payroll records of a contractor [or grant beneficiary] contain any false, misleading or fraudulent information, or if a contractor [or grant beneficiary] fails to comply with the provisions of s. 25.015, D. C. Ords., the contract compliance officer may withhold payments on the contract, terminate, cancel or suspend the contract in whole or in part, or, after a due process hearing, deny the contractor the right to participate in bidding on future county contracts for a period of one year after the first violation is found and for a period of 3 years after a second violation is found."

(a) Every contractor and grant beneficiary shall provide a similar written notice to any subcontractor.

(5) The purchasing agent shall add a summary of the requirement for the living wage to the county's standard Bids & Specifications document.

(6) For every service contract and economic development assistance grant the current living wage shall be kept posted by the contractor or grant beneficiary at the site of the work in a prominent place where it can be easily seen and read by persons employed in the performance of such contract or grant. The poster shall also provide information of the means the reader may use to file a complaint of violation. In addition, copies of the current living wage requirement shall be supplied to any person employed in the performance of a service contract or economic development assistance grant at the request of such person and within a reasonable period of time after the request.

(7)(intro.) Upon completion of a contract or grant and before receiving final payment for his or her work on the contract or grant, each contractor or grant beneficiary shall furnish the county with an affidavit affirming that the contractor or grant beneficiary has complied fully with the requirements of this section. A contractor or grant beneficiary may not receive final payment until such an affidavit is filed.

(a) Where the contractor or grant beneficiary receives regular monthly payments, the affidavit shall be filed at least quarterly.

(b) When requested by the contract compliance officer, the contractor or grant beneficiary shall also furnish affidavits from each of the contractor's or grant beneficiary's subcontractors.

(8) Each contractor and subcontractor providing county-compensated services and each grant beneficiary receiving an economic development assistance grant shall keep full and accurate payroll records for every employee subject to this section.

(9) The contract compliance officer or designee may demand and examine, and it shall be the duty of every contractor, subcontractor or grant beneficiary and agent thereof to keep and furnish to the contract compliance officer or designee, copies of payrolls records which relate to the wages paid to employees providing county-compensated services.

(10) If requested by any person, the contract compliance officer or designee shall inspect the payroll records of any contractor, subcontractor or grant beneficiary, or agent of any of them, providing county-compensated services or receiving an economic development assistance grant to ensure compliance with this section.

(11) (a) An affected employee may file a complaint alleging a contractor's or grant beneficiary's violation of this section. All complaints shall be filed with the contract compliance officer.

(b) The contract compliance officer shall investigate and determine whether there has been a violation of this section, and provide copies of a proposed decision to the complainant and the contractor or grant beneficiary. If a violation is found, the proposed decision may include any of the following:

1. Withholding of payments due the contractor or grant beneficiary in amount sufficient to pay the wages due all affected employees;

2. Termination, suspension or cancellation of the contract or grant in whole or in part;

3. Debarment, for a period of up to 3 years.

(c) Any person affected by the proposed decision may, no later than 30 days after issuance of the proposed decision, appeal the decision to the board by serving a notice of appeal on the county clerk. If no appeal is taken with the time allotted, the proposed decision shall become final.

(d) Upon the filing of an appeal, the board shall meet on notice, take testimony, receive evidence, allow a party to call witnesses, allow cross-examination and issue a final decision. The board shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence, but shall admit all testimony having reasonable probative value, excluding that which is immaterial, irrelevant or unduly repetitious. The board shall give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law. Basic principles of relevancy, materiality and probative force, as recognized in equitable proceedings, shall govern the proof of all questions of fact. The board may take official notice of any generally recognized fact or established technical or scientific fact, but parties shall be notified either before or during hearing or by full reference in preliminary reports, or otherwise, of the facts so noticed, and the parties shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the validity of the official notice.

(e) The board's final decision may include withholding a sum of money due the contractor or grant beneficiary in an amount sufficient to meet the requirements of this section for the living wage for all hours worked not compensated for at such minimum wage, as well as termination, suspension or cancellation of the contract or grant, in whole or in part, and debarment.

(12) A department or agency may not award any contract to a contractor nor any grant to a grant beneficiary who has been debarred unless at least 3 years have elapsed from the date of debarment, unless a shorter time of debarment is specified in the board's final decision.

(a) This subsection does not apply to any contractor, subcontractor or grant beneficiary who has not exhausted or waived all appeals, provided that the period of debarment shall commence as of the date all appeals are exhausted or waived, as appropriate.

(13) The board may promulgate rules to administer this subsection.

(14) A contractor or grant beneficiary shall not retaliate against any employee who files a complaint under this section, and in violation thereof shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub. (11)(b)2. and 3. above.

(15) No contractor or grant beneficiary may use the living wage requirement of this section to reduce the wage paid to any person employed by the contractor or grant beneficiary as of December 31, 1998.