Q&A
Council Member De La Rosa questions Comptroller's office on wage enforcement and Intro 910
1:14:10
·
3 min
Council Member Carmen N. De La Rosa engages in a Q&A session with Claudia Enriquez from the Office of the New York City Comptroller, discussing wage enforcement, the impact of Intro 910, and the role of the Comptroller's office in monitoring compliance with wage and community hiring requirements.
- The discussion covers the Comptroller's role in enforcing wage standards for city contracts and subsidized projects.
- Intro 910's mandate for annual wage adjustments based on inflation is addressed, along with its potential impact on developers and workers.
- Challenges in implementing new compliance monitoring systems, including resource constraints and technological needs, are highlighted.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:14:10
Thank you.
1:14:10
I have some questions for you, and I love it how you give us your technical edits and then say give us more money to do this.
1:14:17
Very, very nice.
1:14:18
I Okay.
1:14:19
So let me ask you a few questions.
1:14:21
You testified that the obviously, the commptroller's office of the bureau enforces wage standards and prevailing wage for or living wage for city contracts and city subsidized projects.
1:14:34
Does the comptroller's office play a role in enforcing the compliance of any other construction projects?
Claudia Enriquez
1:14:41
So we enforce under article a of the labor law as well as state laws where the developer receives a tax benefit.
1:14:52
So this includes the construction wage standards under 421A Mhmm.
1:14:56
As well as our colleagues at HPD mentioned 485x.
1:15:00
So that construction wage standard is under our 4 management
Juan Nunez
1:15:05
as well.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:15:05
Intro 910 mandates annual adjustment to wages and benefits based on the rates of inflation.
1:15:12
The consumer price index for urban wage earners in our Metropolitan area or the US Department of Labor's successor index.
1:15:20
What is the sustainability and fairness of this approach, particularly in balancing developer costs and worker protections?
Claudia Enriquez
1:15:28
So, you know, I can't really speak to the cost element as far as the developers, I can say that we have a unit, a classifications unit that adjusts the wage requirements once a year, in some cases twice a year.
1:15:47
For all construction projects.
1:15:49
And so they would have the expertise to be able to make those calculations.
1:15:54
So we would be able to, I don't think there would be any issue in terms of the implementation.
1:15:59
As far as the impact on developers, I think that would be more for HPD.
1:16:03
To address.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:16:04
Okay.
1:16:05
Thank you.
1:16:07
In intro 910, the comptroller's office is tasked with monitoring compliance to oversee and enforce wage and community hiring requirements.
1:16:16
Does your office see any challenges with insurance compliance or how my office address them?
Claudia Enriquez
1:16:23
So I think that the wage enforcement would be, you know, in line with the work that we're already doing.
1:16:33
We don't currently have enforcement authority over community hiring metrics under any other law, and so that would be a new area.
1:16:43
As far as the challenges, this particular statue contemplates that all of the employers that are subject to this law submit records to our office.
1:16:53
That's currently not the case for most construction laws.
1:16:59
Usually, our cases come to us via complaints and so to have an automatic process whereby we are reviewing every single project that comes in is is quite staff intensive.
1:17:11
And so that is, you know, the little pitch at the end for additional resources.
1:17:16
Also, the online portal, there is a state bill that passed that requires the Department of Labor, and I believe also the is working on 1, 2, collect certified payroll reports electronically.
1:17:26
That does not yet exist.
1:17:28
And so we just have to figure out how to work all of that into some structures that are being put into place, but we currently don't have technology either.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:17:37
Is there a mechanism placed right now that allows for an agreed persons to submit complaints for a controller's review at this time?
Claudia Enriquez
1:17:44
Yes.
1:17:44
They can very easily file complaints on our website.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:17:48
Great.
1:17:48
Any questions?
1:17:50
Alright.
1:17:50
Thank you so much for being very much.
1:17:52
Thank you for your testimony.
