Section 1197-Q. Authority; affirmative action

1. All contracts for design,
  construction, services or materials for  water  projects  authorized  by
  this  title  shall  require that such contracts and documents soliciting
  bids or proposals therefor  shall  contain  or  make  reference  to  the
  following provisions:
    (a)   The  contractor  will  not  discriminate  against  employees  or
  applicants for  employment  because  of  race,  creed,  color,  national
  origin,  sex,  age, disability, or marital status, and will undertake or
  continue programs of affirmative action to insure  that  minority  group
  persons  and  women  are  afforded  equal employment opportunity without
  discrimination. Such action shall be taken with reference,  but  not  be
  limited   to   recruitment,   employment,   job  assignment,  promotion,
  upgrading, demotion, transfer, layoff,  termination,  rates  of  pay  or
  other  forms of compensation, and selections for training or retraining,
  including apprenticeship and on-the-job training.
    (b) At the request of the authority, the contractor shall request each
  employment agency, labor union, or authorized representative of  workers
  with  which  he or she has a collective bargaining or other agreement or
  understanding, to furnish  a  written  statement  that  such  employment
  agency,  labor union or representative shall not discriminate because of
  race, creed, color, national origin, sex,  age,  disability  or  marital
  status  and  that  such  union  or  representative will cooperate in the
  implementation of the contractor's obligations hereunder.
    (c) The contractor will state, in all solicitations or  advertisements
  for  employees  placed by or on behalf of the contractor, in performance
  of the contract that all qualified applicants  will  be  afforded  equal
  employment  opportunity  without  discrimination because of race, creed,
  color, national origin, sex, age, disability or marital status.
    (d) The contractor will  include  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  (a)
  through  (c)  of this subdivision in every subcontract or purchase order
  in such a  manner  that  such  provisions  will  be  binding  upon  each
  subcontractor or vendor as to its working connection with a contract.
    2.  The  authority shall establish procedures and guidelines to ensure
  that contractors and subcontractors undertake  programs  of  affirmative
  action  as  required by this section. Such procedures may require, after
  notice in a bid solicitation, the submission of  an  affirmative  action
  program  prior  to the award of any contract, or at any time thereafter,
  and may require the submission of compliance  reports  relating  to  the
  operation  and  implementation of any affirmative action program adopted
  hereunder. Such procedures and guidelines shall be consistent  with  the
  guidelines  promulgated  by  the  office  of federal contract compliance
  programs  of  the  United  States  department  of  labor   pursuant   to
  presidential  executive  order eleven thousand two hundred forty-six, as
  amended,  and  any  state  statutory  or  regulatory  requirements.  The
  authority  shall,  in  the  promulgation  of  procedures  and guidelines
  pursuant to this section, cooperate with any  federal,  state  or  local
  agency  established  for  the purpose of implementing affirmative action
  compliance programs.
    3.  The  authority  shall  seek  meaningful   participation   in   the
  performance  of  contracts  by  minority  business enterprises and shall
  establish measures and procedures to identify those contracts and  items
  of work for which minority business enterprises may best bid to actively
  and  affirmatively  promote  and  assist  their  participation  so as to
  facilitate the award of a fair share of contracts to  such  enterprises.
  For  purposes  hereof,  "minority  business  enterprise"  shall mean any
  business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum owned by,  or
  in  the case of a publicly owned business, at least fifty-one per centum
  of the stock of which is owned by citizens or permanent resident  aliens

  who  are  Black,  Hispanic,  Asian,  American  Indian or women, and such
  ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing.  The  provisions
  of  this  subdivision shall not be construed to limit the ability of any
  minority business enterprise to bid on any contract.
    4.  In  the  implementation  of  subdivisions  two  and  three of this
  section, the authority shall consider compliance by any contractor  with
  the  requirements of any federal, state or local law concerning minority
  business  enterprises  or  equal  employment  opportunity,   which   may
  effectuate the requirements of this section. If the authority determines
  that by virtue of the imposition of the requirements of any such law, in
  respect  to  contracts  affected  by  this  section, that the provisions
  thereof duplicate or conflict with such law, the authority  shall  waive
  the  applicability  of this section to the extent of such duplication or
  conflict.
    5. In order to implement  the  requirements  and  objectives  of  this
  section,   the   authority  shall  be  responsible  for  monitoring  the
  contractors'  compliance  with  the  provisions  hereof,  for   advising
  contractors on the availability of competing qualified minority business
  enterprises  to  perform contracts proposed to be awarded and for making
  recommendations  to  contractors  to  improve  the  access  of  minority
  business enterprises to such contracts.