New York State Contractors Face Expanded Reporting Requirements

Contractors and subcontractors that perform work for New York State should start preparing now for additional reporting requirements coming their way this year.  An executive order recently issued by Governor Cuomo expands the amount of employee information required to be submitted for “state contracts, agreements and procurements issued and executed on or after June 1, 2017.”

What’s Changed?

The current employee information required for NYS contracts is limited to equal employment opportunity data such as sex, race and ethnicity. Under the new mandate, salary and job title must also be reported for each employee working directly on the state contract. If those specific employees cannot be readily identified, the contractor must report the titles and salaries of every employee in its workforce.

In turn, state agencies and authorities are now required to include a provision in all state contracts, agreements and procurements issued and executed on or after June 1, 2017 that requires contractors to submit these “detailed workforce utilization reports.”

Which Contracts are Affected?

Contractors will be required to report this information to state agencies on a quarterly basis for all prime contracts with a value in excess of $25,000. Contractors whose prime contracts exceed $100,000 in value must report their data on a monthly basis.

How Do I Prepare?

Prepare for this new reporting standard by reviewing your payroll system to ensure it can identify and track those employees who work directly on state contracts, thereby minimizing the amount of employee data reported to the state.

Contractors working outside of NYS should also prepare for the possibility that this trend could soon affect their government contracts as well. The construction industry is in the crosshairs of equal pay proponents and activists as they push for states and cities to play a more agressive role in forcing pay equality, particularly on government-funded projects.  Contractors need to stay abreast of changing rules in their jurisdictions and review their hiring and pay policies to ensure future compliance.

For more information, please contact Robert Paz, Partner in charge of the Sax Construction Industry Services Group at (212) 661-8640.



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