Debarment and Suspension.
9 RCNY § 4-10
in effect§ 4-10 Debarment and Suspension.
(a) Applicability. It is the policy of the City that vendors are not subject to debarment pursuant to these Rules and agencies may not debar vendors based on the grounds set forth in this section. The activities and conduct indicated to be grounds for debarment listed in this section, however, are specifically referenced in City construction contracts as grounds for default. So as not to disturb the effect of those contract provisions with respect to default, the listing of the grounds for debarment shall remain in these Rules, although agencies may not use such grounds to institute a debarment proceeding.
(b) Grounds for debarment.
(1) Grounds for debarment include the following acts or omissions on the part of the vendor or any of its officers, directors, partners, five percent shareholders, principals, or other person substantially involved in its activities:
(i) indictment or conviction under any state or federal law of any of the following except that indictment alone may be a cause for debarment only for such time as the indictment continues:
(A) a criminal offense incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain or performing a public or private contract;
(B) fraud, embezzlement, theft, bribery, forgery, falsification or destruction of records, or receiving stolen property;
(C) a criminal violation of any state or federal antitrust law;
(D) violation of the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq, or the Mail Fraud Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 et seq, for acts in connection with the submission of bids or proposals for a public or private contract;
(E) conspiracy to commit any act or omission that would constitute grounds for conviction or liability under any statute described in subparagraph (D) above; or
(F) an offense indicating a lack of business integrity that seriously and directly affects responsibility as a City vendor;
(ii) judgment of civil liability under any state or federal antitrust law for acts or omissions in connection with the submission of bids or proposals for a public or private contract;
(iii) arrears on any debt or contract with the City or any agency, default as surety or otherwise upon any obligation to the City or any agency, or arrears for taxes;
(iv) violation of contract provisions, as set forth below:
(A) failure without good cause to perform in accordance with the specifications or within the time limit provided in the contract, or
(B) unsatisfactory performance in connection with the terms of one or more contracts;
(v) an agency determination of non-responsibility or debarment by another governmental entity or public authority;
(vi) violation of the provisions of Section 1304 or 1305 of the Charter or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto;
(vii) making or causing to be made any false, deceptive, or fraudulent material statement in any bid, proposal, or application for City or other government work;
(viii) use of unauthorized subcontractors;
(ix) refusal to cooperate with reasonable requests of City inspectors and representatives with respect to work under the contract provisions, plans, or specifications;
(x) improper conduct, including but not limited to, intentional or grossly negligent billing irregularities, submitting false or frivolous or exaggerated claims, falsification of documents or records, willful destruction of documents or records the vendor had an obligation to maintain, bribery, use of false or deceptive statements to obtain some benefit, causing competition to be restrained or limited, misrepresentation, falsely claiming to be a minority- or woman-owned or small business, violation of ethical standards established by the City, and other dishonesty incident to obtaining, prequalifying for, or performing any contract or modification thereof; or
(xi) any other cause sufficiently serious and compelling that a reasonable person would seriously doubt the capability of the vendor to perform City procurement requirements.
(2) A vendor may also be debarred if:
(i) it was founded or established, or operates in a manner designed, to evade the application or defeat the purpose of these Rules, or
(ii) it is a successor, assignee, subsidiary, or affiliate of a suspended or debarred vendor.
(3) Imputed conduct.
(i) The fraudulent, criminal, or other improper conduct of any officer, director, shareholder, partner, employee, or other individual associated with a vendor may be imputed to that vendor when the conduct occurred in connection with the individual's performance of duties for or on behalf of the vendor or with the vendor's knowledge, approval, or acquiescence. The vendor's acceptance of the benefits derived from the conduct shall be evidence of such knowledge, approval, or acquiescence.
(ii) The fraudulent, criminal, or other improper conduct of a vendor may be imputed to any officer, director, shareholder, partner, employee, or other individual associated with that vendor who participated in, knew of, or had reason to know of the vendor's conduct.
(iii) The fraudulent, criminal, or other seriously improper conduct of one vendor participating in a joint venture or similar arrangement may be imputed to the other participating vendors if the conduct occurred for or on behalf of the joint venture or other similar arrangement, or with the knowledge, approval, or acquiescence of these vendors. Acceptance of the benefits derived from the conduct shall be evidence of such knowledge, approval, or acquiescence.
(c) Suspension.
(1) An agency petitioning OATH for the debarment of a vendor or having knowledge of facts that may form the basis of such a petition may in its exclusive discretion suspend such vendor from consideration for the award of any procurement with the City. The decision to suspend a vendor shall be made by the ACCO and shall not be delegated.
(2) A suspension shall be effective for no longer than three months, except that delay of a debarment proceeding that is caused by a suspended vendor shall be deemed to be consent by that vendor to an extension of the suspension beyond the three-month maximum. The period of such extension shall be equal to the period of such delay caused by the vendor. When an issue regarding delay is raised by either party or the administrative law judge, the vendor shall bear the burden of demonstrating that the delay was not caused by the vendor.
(3) Appeal. All suspensions may be appealed as set forth herein.
(i) Time limit. A vendor shall have ten days from receipt of the agency's notification to file a written appeal with the Agency Head. Receipt of notice by the vendor shall be deemed to be no later than five days from the date of mailing or upon delivery, if delivered. Filing of the appeal shall be accomplished by actual delivery of the appeal document to the office of the Agency Head.
(ii) Form and content. The appeal shall be in writing and shall briefly state all the facts or other basis upon which the vendor contests the suspension. Supporting documentation, if any, shall be included.
(iii) Determination. Solicitation, award, or performance of a procurement shall not be delayed, except at the discretion of the Agency Head, because of an appeal filed pursuant to this section. The Agency Head shall consider the appeal and shall make a prompt written decision with respect to its merits, a copy of which shall be sent to the vendor. The Agency Head's decision shall be final. The Agency Head may not delegate the authority to make a decision on the appeal to the ACCO.
(d) Hearing procedure for debarment.
(1) The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of OATH. The hearing shall be limited to the allegations and other issues placed in controversy by the pleadings.
(2) The vendor shall file an answer within the time provided by the rules of OATH. The answer shall include an admission, denial, or other response to each of the allegations in the petition, and the omission of such a response to any allegation in the petition shall be deemed an admission of that allegation. Should the vendor fail to file a timely answer to the petition, all of the allegations of the petition shall be deemed to be admitted, and the hearing shall be limited to submissions and argument concerning the scope and period of the debarment to be imposed.
(3) At any time before any debarment, the vendor and the petitioning agency may enter into an informal disposition agreement relating to the debarment.
(e) Scope of sanctions.
(1) OATH may, in debarring a vendor, disqualify that vendor from being awarded a procurement, performing as a subcontractor, providing supplies for a procurement, and/or exercising a renewal option. OATH may impose such sanctions upon the vendor's activities with a single agency or any combination of agencies, and to a single type of procurement or any combination of procurement types. The period of debarment, including any suspension pending OATH's decision, may not exceed five years. In determining the scope or period of a vendor's debarment, OATH may impose such conditions on the vendor's City activities as it considers appropriate, including, but not limited to, monitoring of the vendor's future procurement activities with the City.
(2) At the time of debarment, or at any time thereafter, any Agency Head may exercise the City's right to terminate for convenience an existing contract between that agency and the debarred vendor, or may prohibit any modification, extension, or renewal of any such contract. In such case, the vendor shall be entitled to receive only payment for the work performed until that point.
(f) Notice.
(1) The agency shall forward copies of all documents required or permitted by this section to OATH, Corporation Counsel, the CCPO, the Comptroller, DOI, and the PPB. The CCPO shall include all pertinent information in the VENDEX database.
(2) A list of vendors currently suspended or debarred, including a summary of the scope of the suspension or debarment, shall be published monthly in the City Record by the CCPO. This list shall include the following information:
(i) the name of the vendor and its principals,
(ii) the name of the agency that initiated the debarment proceeding and/or that suspended the vendor,
(iii) the effective date and scope of the debarment or suspension, and
(iv) the termination date of the debarment.
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-154644Fetched: 10/24/2026