Accountability and Transparency Standards for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-Funded Contractors in New Hampshire

 

A Good Jobs/Community Benefit/Responsible Contracting Checklist

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is an unprecedented piece of legislation that will funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds into New Hampshire to create good middle class-sustaining jobs while also promising taxpayers unparalleled transparency regarding how ARRA funds are spent and a full accounting of whether the resulting expenditures are achieving the ARRA promise of good job creation.  The purpose of this checklist is to clearly outline the kinds of standards to which all agencies, organizations, and contractors receiving ARRA funds should be held by the State of New Hampshire. Such a checklist should be presented prior to Executive Council approval of ARRA-funded contracts to ensure that all bidders and contractors are held to the same high standards regarding good job creation, transparency in the utilization of ARRA funds, and accountability to taxpayers and the general public.

 

PART I: ACHIEVING THE BEST VALUE AND OPTIMAL COMMUNITY BENEFIT FOR TAXPAYER DOLLARS

YES   NO

 

• Every job created and worker covered under the contract will be paid, at a minimum, a "livable wage" as defined by the University of New Hampshire Carsey Institute's study, Many New Hampshire Jobs Do Not Pay a Livable Wage (Fall 2008), available at www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/IB-NHLivableWage08.pdf

• Every job created under the contract includes, as a benefit, affordable and comprehensive employer-provided health insurance that does not push the worker and his or her family into the ranks of the uninsured or underinsured.

• Every job created under the contract provides a pension or retirement benefit.

• The contractor participates in a bona fide registered apprenticeship program in order to make job slots available to young workers and new workforce entrants and to offer journey worker training and skill upgrading.

• The contractor has a workplace safety training program that is part of a current and properly filed written safety program overseen by a functioning joint loss management committee in accordance with RSA 281-A:64.

• The contractor has made a commitment to engaging in community outreach to make the ARRA-funded jobs available to qualified local residents and trainees and to give priority to hiring NH residents and to embrace a goal that at least 85% of the resulting jobs will go to NH resident.

• The Contractor's budget includes the cost of Workers' Compensation insurance for all workers on the project and such insurance is for the actual job classification in which the worker is engaged. This means that contractors pay for Workers' Compensation insurance and that subcontractors are not allowed to exclude themselves from coverage. 

 

PART II: COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

The awarding agency or agency charged with statutory compliance will ensure that all ARRA-funded contractors fulfill all legal requirements for doing business in New Hampshire.

YES   NO

• The contractor and all subcontractors to be used on the project are registered with both the Secretary of State and the Department of Labor as eligible to do business in the state of New Hampshire see www.sos.nh.gov/corporate/corpleader.htm

• The bidder has completed a Vendor Application and W-9 Alternate Form, available from the Department of Administrative Services at www.admin.state.nh.us/purchasing/vendor.asp

• For any Department of Transportation project, the contractor has submitted all required compliance forms as listed at http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/construction/laborcompliance/documents.htm

 

PART III: FEDERAL REGULATIONS

YES   NO

• The contractor is certified to be in compliance with all federal laws and regulations governing hiring, wage and hour standards, occupational safety and health standards, equal employment opportunity standards, nondiscrimination standards, hiring goals for women and minorities, and other federal requirements.

• The contractor and all subcontractors specifically have acknowledged the federal goal of hiring 6.9% women on all jobs with federal funding and have demonstrated a plan to meet this goal. http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/regs/compliance/aa.htm

Certified on this date: ___________________________, 20____

By this representative in the Economic Stimulus Office (Signature):

____________________________________________________________________

Printed name and job title: _______________________________________________

 

PART IV. ACCOUNTABILITY (Post-Contract Award)

• The number and duration of jobs created by each project, including quantitative detail about the wages and benefits provided and whether the jobs are full-time or part-time, will be submitted to the appropriate state and federal Offices of Economic Recovery.

• Any general contractor or construction manager on an ARRA-funded project will provide to the awarding agency a list of all subcontractors, and independent contractors on the job site with a record of the entity to whom each subcontractor or independent contractor is directly contracted, and by whom that contractor or subcontractor is insured for worker's compensation purposes.  This list must be posted on the jobsite and updated as needed and also posted on the agency website.  Under no circumstances shall a subcontractor or independent contractor be present on a state construction site without the contractor's name and direct contracting relationship being posted in the visible location at the worksite.

• For residential weatherization projects only:  Given the personal and intrusive nature of this work in the homes of New Hampshire residents, all contractors must track exactly which workers are in each of the contractor's project homes at all times, and this information must be made available to funders or project monitors upon request.

• The Contractor must provide verification that workers on site have completed an OSHA 10-hour workplace safety and health training program, in accordance with NH RSA 277:5-a.

• The New Hampshire Notice of (Workers Compensation) Compliance, Form WCP-1, is posted in a conspicuous spot at the project site(s).

•  The required labor law compliance forms/posters are posted in a conspicuous place at every project site: i.e. Criteria to Establish an Employee or Independent Contractor, Protective Legislation Law, New Hampshire Minimum Wage Law, The Whistleblowers' Protection Act, The Workers' Right to Know, and others. Listed, in part, and available at www.labor.state.nh.us/mandatory_posters.asp , www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm

 

Prepared by the NH AFL-CIO

and the

NH State Building and

 Construction Trades Council

Updated 4.14.09

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