N.O. City Council Passes Responsible Contractor Law

On Thursday, November 4th, the New Orleans City Council unanimously adopted a new ordinance requiring that contractors doing business with the city disclose business interests and take responsibility for all work performed under the terms of the contract, whether the work is performed directly by employees of the contractor or by any subcontractor or other agent working on the job. 

Spearheaded by a coalition of building trades’ unions, working with the Workplace Justice Project, this ordinance is designed to increase transparency in public contracting and to penalize the misclassification of workers. Workers who are wrongly treated as “independent contractors” lose many benefits of employment including, minimum wage and overtime, workers compensation and other health and safety protections, and the right to act together to increase their voice on the job. Misclassification is often used by companies to put profits over people, since it has been shown to save companies as much as 1/3 of full labor costs. By this ordinance, the City of New Orleans says loud and clear that those who contract with the city are responsible for upholding all labor laws and ensuring that workers’ rights are protected on the job.  

The WJP will work with union and community partners, and with the Office of Procurement to finalize the questionnaire to be completed by all contractors bidding on covered City projects, and will monitor future contracting for compliance.