Workforce Participation Goals for Minorites and Women
All contracts by a state agency or state-assisted contracts 1 for design, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance, or repair must contain workforce participation goals for minorities and women. M.G.L. c. 149, section 44A(2)(G) and the Administration & Finance Administrative Bulletin: Equal Opportunity and Non-discrimination on State and State Assisted Construction Contracts (A&F 14) set forth the requirements for the workforce participation goals on said contracts.
The awarding authority is responsible for the participation goals of minority and women workers to be employed on each such contract, and the processes and procedures to ensure compliance with those workforce participation goals, including reporting and enforcement provisions. The MSBA is a funding authority that invites districts into its grant program to help fund capital improvement projects in the Commonwealth’s public schools. The districts in the MSBA’s grant program are the awarding authorities for each of their respective projects. Therefore, the districts in the MSBA’s grant program are solely responsible for ensuring that their projects are in compliance with all laws and regulations related to the workforce participation goals for minorities and women.
Districts should consult with local legal counsel to develop local processes and procedures to ensure compliance with the workforce participation goals for minorities and women, including reporting and enforcement procedures.
The MSBA has updated the following MSBA forms to align with the requirements for workforce participation goals for minorities and women:
- Designer Services Base Contract for Design/Bid/Build and CM at Risk
- OPM Base Contract for Design Bid Build (DBB) and Construction Manager at Risk (CM-R)
- Project Funding Agreement
- Project Scope & Budget Agreement
The MSBA continues its review of documents used by districts and their consultants and may propose additional changes upon completion of this review. Please see the following resources for more information:
- https://www.massschoolbuildings.org/about/roundtables/Contractor
- https://www.mass.gov/administrative-bulletin/equal-opportunity-and-non-discrimination-on-state-and-state-assisted
- https://www.mass.gov/doc/oig-bulletin-november-2020-vol-1-4/download (See: page 8, Workforce Participation Goals for Minorities and Women, Submitted by Deborah Anderson, Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General, Fair Labor Division)
- https://policygroupontradeswomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Finishing-the-Job-Best-Practices-v.8-Sept-2018.pdf
1 A construction project undertaken by a political subdivision of the commonwealth or 2 or more subdivisions thereof for the planning, acquisition, design, construction, demolition, installation, repair or maintenance whose costs are paid for, reimbursed, grant funded, or otherwise supported, in whole or in part, by the commonwealth. M.G.L. c. 7C, § 6(b).
