Ordinance requires most public construction contractors to comply with all 'federal, state and muncipal laws governing labor and employment'
Bucking many local business leaders, a sharply divided New Orleans City Council on Thursday adopted a law requiring contractors and subcontractors on city construction jobs worth more than $50,000 to report to City Hall if they violate "federal, state and municipal laws governing labor and employment." The opposition, which included the Business Council of New Orleans, labeled the legislation redundant, onerous and a potential drag on the city's rebounding construction industry.
Supporters of a draft ordnance that would require most New Orleans construction contractors and subcontractors to comply with all federal, state and municipal labor laws pack the City Council chamber on Thursday.Supporters of the law, including local AFL-CIO president Robert "Tiger" Hammond, countered that the measure is needed to police city vendors who routinely flout labor laws while continuing to hold lucrative City Hall contracts.
The proposal by Councilman Eric Granderson passed 4-3 after an hourlong debate.
The ordinance was the first, and probably the last, significant piece of legislation to be authored by Granderson, who is filling an at-large council seat on an interim basis. An election to fill the post is March 24, with a runoff, if necessary, set for next month.
Voting with Granderson were Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, Jon Johnson and Susan Guidry. Opposed were Jackie Clarkson, Stacy Head and Kristin Gisleson Palmer.
Several dozen backers of the ordinance, who wore bright yellow stickers to indicate their support, erupted in applause after the vote.
To open an hourlong debate on the matter, Granderson noted that his proposal doesn't create any new regulations. Instead, it requires companies to report any violation of labor or employment law to the city attorney and to submit within 90 days a plan to correct the infraction.
The city attorney then "would have the option of pursuing an appropriate civil remedy," Granderson said.
"If you do not break the law, this ordinance doesn't touch you," Granderson said, adding that a firm that responds within 90 days faces no penalty.
Responding to concerns expressed by business owners at an earlier committee meeting, Granderson amended his original proposal, adding that contractors will not be responsible for violations of the law by subcontractors.
Bob Brown, managing director for the Business Council, told the council that his organization would prefer to address the issue of contractor behavior through language in contracts rather than through legislation.
"If you did it that way, it would be far less onerous and still protect the public fisc,'' Brown said.
Freddy Yoder, the CEO of Durr Construction Co., called the ordinance "bad law'' that would stymie economic growth in New Orleans. Yoder said laws that address the issues are already in place.
Others said the new regulations will burden small businesses as well as the city's Law Department, slowing the pace of construction contracts that must be approved by the city's legal staff.
Granderson disputed that assertion, saying the city attorney's office had assured him that the law would not hinder the awarding of contracts.
Council President Jackie Clarkson said she opposed the idea because she believes it would be an unnecessary burden on business. When she told union workers gathered in the room she was one of their supporters, Clarkson was greeted with boos and catcalls.
Hammond said that since Hurricane Katrina there have been thousands of complaints filed with the state attorney general's office about citizens who have been "ripped off and cheated'' by contractors large and small.
"I must be missing something,'' he said. "How does it hurt small business if I obey the law?''
Michelle Krupa can be reached at mkrupa@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3312.