§ 82.5. LOCAL HIRING REQUIREMENTS.

(a) For each Covered Project, the following requirements shall apply to each Prime Contractor and Subcontractor that performs Project Work in excess of the Threshold Amount set forth in Section 6.1 of the Administrative Code, as that amount may be amended from time to time, with regard to Project Work actually performed by the Prime Contractor and work included under any subcontract, including all work performed by a Subcontractor and all lower-tier Subcontractors under the subcontract:

(1) The mandatory participation level shall be 30% of all Project Work Hours within each trade performed by Local Residents, with no less than 15% of all Project Work Hours within each trade performed by Disadvantaged Workers.

(2) At least 50% of the Project Work Hours performed by Apprentices within each trade shall be performed by Local Residents, with no less than 25% of Project Work Hours performed by Apprentices within each trade to be performed by Disadvantaged Workers.

(b) Pipeline and Retention Compliance. Contractors and Subcontractors may use one or more of the following pipeline and retention compliance mechanisms to receive a conditional waiver from the Local Hiring Requirements on a project-specific basis:

(1) Specialized Trades. Every two calendar years, OEWD shall publish a list of trades designated as “Specialized Trades,” for which the Local Hiring Requirements of this Policy shall not be applicable. Prior to designating a trade as a Specialized Trade, OEWD shall have made findings that: (A) considering all referral sources and best estimates of workers residing in the City, there will be insufficient numbers of qualified and available Local Residents and Disadvantaged Workers to enable Contractors and Subcontractors to satisfy the Local Hiring Requirements for such trade; and (B) best estimates indicate that on all Covered Projects during those calendar years, in the aggregate, demand for work hours in such trade will not exceed a maximum number of hours as determined by OEWD through the regulatory process set forth in subsection 82.9(a). All Contractors and Subcontractors shall report to OEWD the Project Work Hours utilized in each designated Specialized Trade.

(2) Credit for Hiring on Non-covered Projects. Contractors and Subcontractors may accumulate credit hours for hiring San Francisco Disadvantaged Workers on non-covered projects in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area and apply those credit hours to contracts for Covered Projects to meet the applicable minimum mandatory hiring requirements set forth above or to work off penalties assessed under subsection 82.8(f). OEWD shall establish criteria for credit hours and their application to meet the minimum participation requirements. OEWD shall consider credit hours to be accumulated for work on non-covered projects performed by San Francisco Disadvantaged Workers only if (A) the San Francisco Disadvantaged Worker performing work on the non-covered project is paid prevailing wages for such work; and, (B) in the case of non-covered projects in the City, the number of hours to be credited for the non-covered project in question exceeds one-half of the number of Disadvantaged Worker hours that would be required if the project were a Covered Project.

(3) Sponsoring Apprentices. A Contractor or Subcontractor may avoid the assessment of penalties under subsection 82.8(f) for failing to meet applicable hiring requirements by demonstrating the high impracticality of complying with the mandatory participation level for a particular contract or classes of employees before project commencement by agreeing to sponsor an OEWD-specified number of new Apprentices in trades in which noncompliance is likely and retaining those Apprentices for the entire period of a Contractor’s or Subcontractor’s work on the project. OEWD will verify with the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Apprenticeship Standards that the OEWD-specified number of new Apprentices are registered and active Apprentices prior to issuing a release from penalties.

(4) Direct Entry Agreements. OEWD is authorized to negotiate and enter into direct entry agreements with apprenticeship programs that are registered with California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Apprenticeship Standards, and, if OEWD is successful in such negotiations, to develop standards and procedures through which Contractors and Subcontractors may avoid assessments of penalties by hiring and retaining Apprentices who enrolled through such direct entry agreements. Such standards and procedures shall allow avoidance of penalty assessments only where OEWD has made a project-specific determination that compliance with Local Hiring Requirements would be impractical for that Contractor or Subcontractor. Direct entry agreements negotiated pursuant to this subsection 82.5(b)(4) shall: (A) be enforceable contracts; (B) require apprenticeship programs to enroll a class of Apprentices no less frequently than every 365 days; (C) specify all admissions standards related to applicants’ training and skills; (D) specify a minimum number of Local Residents and Disadvantaged Workers meeting those standards who shall be admitted in each class of Apprentices; and (E) be on file with and deemed permissible by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. OEWD’s annual report to the Board of Supervisors as required by subsection 82.9(f) shall include the number of releases from penalties granted based on this subsection 82.5(b)(4), the number of Local Residents enrolled as Apprentices based on direct entry agreements, and the number of direct entry agreements in effect, and shall identify the trades in question.

(Added by Ord. , File No. 170004, App. 3/30/2017, Eff. 4/29/2017, Retro. 3/25/2017)

(Former Sec. 82.5 added by Ord. 148-99, File No. 990433, App. 6/2/99; repealed by Ord. 171-03. File No. 030422, App. 7/3/2003)