3.12 Living Wage

3.12.010 Purpose

The City awards contracts to private firms to provide services to the public and City government. The City also provides grants to notforprofit organizations. Such public expenditures should be spent only with deliberate purpose to promote the creation of jobs that allow citizens to support themselves and their families with dignity. Jobs that pay below living wages do not serve the public purpose and place an undue burden on taxpayers and the community which must further subsidize employers who pay subpoverty wages by providing their employees health care, housing, nutrition, energy assistance, and other governmentprovided services. The City has a responsibility when spending public money to set a community standard that promotes workers living above the poverty line. Therefore, contractors, subcontractors or other recipients of City financial assistance should pay their employees nothing less than a living wage as defined by this chapter.	

3.12.020 Definitions

For the purpose of this ordinance the following definitions shall apply:

A.     "Employee" means any person who is employed as an employee of a service contractor or a recipient, or who is a recipient subcontractor or independent contractor of a service contractor, or subcontractor on a service contract with the City, for all employment hours spent performing the duties required pursuant to the service contract, or by a recipient or a subcontractor of a recipient who spends 50% or more of the employee's compensated time in a month working on the project or portion of business that received City financial assistance.

"Employee" does not include:

1.     Employees outside the state of Oregon;

2.     Employees who are hired as temporary or parttime employees and who are employed for a total of less than 1040 hours in any twelve month period;

3.     Employees participating in bona fide training programs such as welfare-to-work (state), work study (educational institutions), certified apprentice programs or on-the-job training program of no more that 18 months;

4.     Volunteers and quasi-volunteers (who may receive a stipend);

5.     Employees who are under 18 years of age, employed by a non-profit entity for after school or summer employment or as a trainee for a period of not longer than 120 days;

6.     Employees who are standing by or on-call according to the criteria established by the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29, U.S.C. Section 201. This exemption shall only apply during the time when the employee is actually standing by or on-call; or

7.     An employee subject to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement.

B.     "Employer" means the City of Ashland including the Parks and Recreation Department and any person who is a recipient, contractor, or subcontractor and who employs employees.

"Employer" does not include other governmental agencies or quasi-governmental agencies, which have publicly elected boards or commissions.

C.     "Person" means natural person, joint venture, joint stock company, partnership, association, club, company, corporation, business, trust or organization.

D.     "Recipient" means any person who receives financial assistance from the City, including direct grants, loans, waiver of city fees or other valuable consideration in an amount of more than $15,000 in any twelve month period. This amount shall be adjusted annually, effective June 30, to reflect increases during the preceding year (January through December) in the Consumer Price Index  Urban Wage Earners, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Recipient does not include a private employer with less than ten employees who receives a tax abatement or subsidy.

"Financial assistance" does not include:

1.     The purchase of goods or other property;

2.     The lease or rental of goods or other property;

3.     Payment to provide services for the occasional meeting, reception, or similar function;

4.     Payments under contracts subject to prevailing wage requirements in ORS 279.348 to 279.380; or

5.     City staff assistance, or an economic benefit as an incidental effect of city policies, regulations or ordinances.

E.     "Safety net services" include:

1.     Temporary, emergency food and shelter;

2.     Substance abuse education, prevention and treatment;

3.     The preservation of dignity and equal access to justice;

4.     Primary and preventive health care services; or

5.     Critical supportive services for families, seniors and victims.

F.     "Service contractor" means any person who enters into a service contract with the City. A "service contract" means a contract to provide services for the operation of the City or to maintain City property.

A service contract does not mean:

1.     The purchase of goods or other property;

2.     The lease or rental of goods or other property;

3.     Payment to provide services for the occasional meeting, reception, or similar function;

4.     Those contracts subject to prevailing wage requirements in ORS 279.348 to 279.380; or

5.     Contracts involving payment of less than $15,000. This amount shall be adjusted annually, effective June 30, to reflect increases during the preceding year (January through December) in the Consumer Price Index-Urban Wage Earners, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amendments to such contracts that increase the contract amount over $15,000 are also not included within the definition of a service contract unless such amendments are used to circumvent living wage requirements.

G.     "Subcontractor" means any person that enters into a service contract with:

1.     A service contractor to assist the service contractor in performing 50% or more of the service work on a project or portion that receives city funds;

2.     A recipient to assist the recipient in performing 50% or more of the service work on a project or portion that receives city funds. 	

3.12.030 Payment of a Living Wage

A.     All employers covered under this chapter shall pay employees a "living wage" of wages and benefits equal to $11.44 per hour (CPI 6/30/04). Benefits, which can be attributed to a living wage, are limited to health care, retirement, 401k and IRS eligible cafeteria plans (including childcare).

B.     Work presently being performed by City of Ashland employees may not be contracted out unless the contractor pays employees performing that work a living wage or the current City wage, whichever is higher.

C.     The wage rate required in section A shall be adjusted annually, effective June 30, to reflect increases during the preceding year (January through December) in the Consumer Price Index - Urban Wage Earners, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

D.     Employers subject to this chapter shall post a notice, which notifies employees of their potential rights under this chapter. Such notice shall be posted predominantly in areas where it will be seen by all employees.	

3.12.040 Enforcement

A.     Compliance with this chapter shall be required in all City contracts to which it applies. Such contracts shall provide that upon a violation of any provision of this chapter the recipient, contractor or subcontractor who is out of compliance shall have thirty days to come into compliance.

Such contracts shall further provide that after 30 days if the recipient, contractor or subcontractor remains out of compliance, the City may terminate the contract and otherwise pursue legal remedies that may be available including the repayment of, or payment for, all or part of the financial assistance provided. If a recipient, contractor, or subcontractor violates the provisions of this chapter twice, the City may terminate all contracts already in force and that recipient, contractor, or subcontractor shall be prohibited from receiving City financial assistance or contracting with the City for a period of two years.

B.     An employee claiming violation of this chapter may report such action to the city. The city administrator may establish a procedure for receiving and investigating such complaints and take appropriate enforcement action.

An employee claiming violation of this chapter may choose to bring an action in the Circuit Court of Oregon against an employer and may be awarded back pay for each day during which the employer failed to pay the employee the required living wage. As additional damages the employee shall be awarded an amount equal to an hour's pay for each hour the employee was not paid the amount required in section 3.12.030 and any additional injunctive relief necessary and appropriate under the circumstances. The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to an employee who prevails in any such enforcement action.

The damage provision of this section shall not apply if such violation was deemed to be unintentional on the part of the employer and the employer paid the required back pay for each day the violation of this chapter occurred.

C.     The statute of limitations for this chapter shall be two years from the time of the alleged violation of this chapter.	

3.12.050 Retaliation & Discrimination Prohibited

A.     No employer shall retaliate or discriminate against an employee in his or her terms and conditions of employment by reason of the person's status as an employee protected by the requirements of this chapter.

B.     No employer shall retaliate or discriminate against a person in his or her terms and conditions of employment by reason of the person reporting a violation of this chapter or for prosecuting an action for enforcement of this chapter.	

3.12.060 Applicability of Provisions

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to:

A.     A contract executed and financial assistance provided after the effective date of this ordinance;

B.     A contract amendment executed after the effective date of this ordinance which itself meets the requirements of this chapter or extends a contract that meets the requirements of this chapter; and

C.     Supplemental financial assistance provided after the effective date of this ordinance which itself meets the requirements of this chapter.

D.     The Council may waive the requirements of this chapter for a recipient or service contractor upon a finding and determination that such a waiver is in the best interest of the City. The Council may waive the requirements of this chapter for a recipient or service contractor who provides safety net services, upon Council acceptance of a three-year plan for achieving the requirements of this chapter.	

3.12.070 Severability

If any court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this chapter legally invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.