Worcester tweaks ‘responsible employer’ law

The Worcester City Council in September made changes to its “responsible-employer” ordinance in order to protect it from anticipated legal challenges.

Responsible-employer ordinances are designed to ensure that construction companies that bid on public projects meet certain worker-friendly provisions, such as paying the prevailing wage and maintaining an apprentice-training program.

But last fall, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a Fall River responsible-employer ordinance, which the city had already withdrawn, was unconstitutional. In May, the same judge granted an injunction against a similar ordinance in Quincy. Soon thereafter, City Manager Michael O’Brien suspended the Worcester law so that the city would have time to revise it.

Worcester’s responsible-employer ordinances have evolved over time. In 2002, the city removed a requirement that at least 50 percent of a contractor’s workforce be residents of the city.

The key element in the current responsible-employer ordinance, approved by the City Council on Sept. 19, is the requirement that contractors and subcontractors maintain apprentice-training programs, as defined by state law.

“I fully expect that this will be tested in the courts,” said Worcester City Solicitor David Moore.

The anticipated court challenges are related to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, better known as ERISA. The key question, according to Moore, concerns the intent of the 1974 law.

Because ERISA does not mention apprenticeship-training programs, “I find it hard to imagine” that the legislation was intended to prohibit the practice, Moore said.