§ 310-13 — Service Contract Wage Require- ments

310-13. Service Contract Wage Require- ments.

1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this section is to ensure a living wage for all employees of contractors and subcontractors performing services for the city. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this section: a. “Living wage” means, prior to March 1, 2015, an hourly wage rate of $10.10 per hour. Effective March 1, 2015, it shall mean the average of the amount required to produce, for 2,080 hours worked, an annual income equal to the U.S. department of health and human services’ most recent poverty guideline for a family of 3 and family of 4 in the 48 contiguous states, as determined by the city clerk on March 1 of each year. b. "Professional service contract" means any contract in which the majority of workers engaged in the performance of the contract perform work which: b-1. Is predominantly intellectual and varied in nature, as opposed to work which involves routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical labor. b-2. Requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher education or a hospital. c. “Service contract” means a contract having a value exceeding $5,000 that directly engages the time and effort of a contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply. A “service contract” does not include a “professional service contract” under par. b., a department of public works contract subject to s. 66.0903, Wis. Stats., a contract administered by the office of community development grants administration or a contract with the Milwaukee public schools. 3. LIVING WAGE REQUIREMENT. Unless contrary to federal, state or local law, all workers, whether permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time, employed in any work performed as part of a service contract with a contracting agency, as defined in sub. 2-c, shall receive and be paid a sum of not less than the living wage in effect at the time a contract is awarded. No contractor may use the living wage requirement of this subsection to reduce the wage paid to any person employed by the contractor. 4. SERVICE CONTRACT BID AND REQUEST-FOR-PROPOSAL SPECIFICA-TIONS. A contracting agency shall add a digest of the provisions of this section to all specifications for service contract work upon which they call for formal competitive bids or issue requests for proposals unless the purchasing director approves the waiver of the provisions in cases where it is likely that no bids or proposals will be received without such a waiver. 5. SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE CONTRACTS. No service contract, as defined in sub. 2-c, shall be entered into by a contracting agency unless the contract contains the following stipulations or their equivalent: a. The contractor agrees to pay all workers employed by the contractor in the performance of this contract, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, a base wage of not less than living wage. b. The contractor agrees to make a sworn report or affidavit, within 10 days following the contractor's completion of the contract, or every 3 months, whichever occurs first, and to procure and submit a like sworn report or affidavit from every subcontractor employed by the contractor to the contracting agency regarding every person employed on or under this contract or subcontract. The affidavit or report shall include, but not be limited to, for the specified time period, the person's name, address, type of work performed, total hours worked on the service contract, hourly wage rate, gross earnings, and employer's contribution to vacation, welfare and pension trust funds. The reports or affidavits shall be accompanied by a statement that each employee has been paid in full the amount of not less than living wage and that there has not been, nor is to be, any rebate or refund of any part of said wages by the employee to the employer. c. If any documents submitted to a contracting agency by the contractor contain any false, misleading or fraudulent information, or if the contractor fails to comply with the provisions of s. 310-13, the contracting agency 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 future city 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. 6. POSTING OF WAGE RATE. For every service contract, as defined under sub. 2-c, the living wage required by sub. 3 shall be kept posted by the contractor 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 the contract. In addition, a copy of the living hourly wage requirement shall be supplied to any person employed in the performance of a service contract at the request of the person within a reasonable period of time after the request. 7. MONITORING AND ENFORCE-MENT. a. Responsibility. The department shall monitor and enforce all service contracts for compliance with this section except for service contracts executed by the department of public works which shall be monitored and enforced by the department of public works. The department or department of public works shall review and monitor the sworn reports or affidavits periodically submitted by service contractors, receive and investigate complaints from service contractors and service contract employees relating to compliance with this section, and impose appropriate sanctions upon any contractor who provides false information to the department or department of public works or fails to comply with the provisions of this section. b. Employee Complaints. Any person employed in the performance of a service contract may, within one year from the date of an alleged failure to comply with sub. 3, file a written complaint with the department or department of public works regarding the service contractor's alleged failure to comply with sub. 3. No service contractor may discharge, reduce the compensation of or otherwise retaliate against any person employed in the performance of a service contract for making a complaint or for using any civil remedies to recover damages. c. Appeals. Any service contractor or service contract employee who objects to any decision or action of the department or department of public works concerning the application or enforcement of this section may appeal the decision to the purchasing director or administrative review appeals board in the case of department of public works service contracts in a manner similar to the process provided in s. 310-19-4. d. Sanctions. Any contractor or subcontractor engaged in a service contract who has been found by the department or department of public works to have submitted any false, misleading or fraudulent information, or to have failed to comply with the provisions of this section, may be subject to any of the following sanctions, imposed by the department or department of public works: d-1. Withholding of payments. d-2. Termination, suspension or cancellation of the contract in whole or in part. d-3. After a due process hearing, denial of the right of the contractor or subcontractor to participate in future city contracts, by himself or herself, partner or agent, or by any corporation of which he or she is a member, 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.