Construction Contracts Must Now Include Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Language to Receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds

On January 18, 2010, a bill (A4323) was signed into law (P.L.2009, c.335) requiring all construction contracts entered into and funded, in whole or in part, by the state of New Jersey to include mandatory equal employment opportunity and affirmative action contract language that requires contractors to make a good faith effort to recruit and employ minorities and women. Failure of a contractor to satisfy the good faith effort requirement of its contract may subject the contractor to assessments imposed pursuant to findings of the Contract Compliance and Audit Unit. The bill also requires the Contract Compliance and Audit Unit to be responsible for determining whether minorities and women have been offered a fair opportunity for employment on state contracts with regard to funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds Act (ARRA). Within 90 days of the effective date, the division will prepare a contracting guide identifying the management practices that have the greatest success in increasing the number of (1) small and minority and women-owned businesses made aware of contracting opportunities with the state and (2) such businesses competing for contracts with the state or subcontracts with entities contracting with the state.