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AG: Bidders Must Comply with ‘Responsible Employer Ordinances’
According to the Attorney General’s Office, contractors bidding on public construction projects in Massachusetts cities and towns that have so-called responsible employer ordinances on the books must meet the terms of those laws in order to win the bid. The decision was prompted by a recent dispute between the city of Fall River and an HVAC contractor that successfully bid on a public works project there. After Montle Plumbing and Heating CO, Inc. was granted the contract, a rival contractor pointed out that the company does not have a state-approved apprentice training program for sheet metal workers as the local ordinance requires.
Fall River is one of more than 20 cities and towns in the Commonwealth that have adopted ordinances setting minimal standards for contractors who work on construction projects funded by tax-payer dollars. In addition to the apprentice training stipulation, the ordinances often require contractors to provide construction workers with health insurance as well as to classify their workers as employees rather than as independent contractors.
Karen Courtney, executive director of the Foundation for Fair Contracting, which has helped to get employer ordinances passed in several cities and towns, says that the AG’s decision is significant. “These laws are only as strong as the enforcement mechanisms behind them. This sends a clear message to contractors that they have to respect responsible employer ordinances as a condition of bidding.”
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