[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic City as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Affirmative action — See Ch. 7.
[Adopted 12-21-2011 by Ord. No. 83-2011]
City employment applications shall not contain a "box" or inquiry regarding an applicant's prior criminal history.
Except as otherwise provided by state and/or federal law, the City shall not inquire about an applicant's conviction history until after it has been determined that the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position for which he/she applied.
After an applicant has been identified as otherwise qualified, the City shall offer a conditional offer of employment to the applicant, pending a background check. Prior to conducting a criminal history check, the City must advise the applicant, in writing, of the following:
A. 
That a criminal history check will occur; and
B. 
That the applicant will have the opportunity to rebut the City's decision to retract a conditional offer of employment; and
C. 
The type of evidence the applicant may present during his/her rebuttal, in the event he/she is denied employment.
The City shall consider the following factors when deciding to offer employment to an applicant with a prior criminal conviction(s):
A. 
The nature of the crime and whether it relates in any way to the job for which the applicant has applied; and
B. 
The degree of rehabilitation of the applicant; and
C. 
The time elapsed since the applicant's conviction or release; and
D. 
Any information produced by the applicant, or on his/her behalf, in regard to his/her rehabilitation and good conduct; and
E. 
The age of the applicant at the time he/she committed the criminal offense(s); and
F. 
The gravity of the offense(s); and
G. 
The public policy of the City to encourage the employment of persons with prior criminal convictions by the City and/or by the vendors the City engages for business.
If, as a result of a criminal history check, the City finds a legitimate reason to deny, refuse, rescind or revoke a contingent offer of employment, the City must immediately notify the applicant of the reason for the adverse decision and provide the applicant with a photocopy of the criminal history report, highlighting the particular conviction(s) warranting the denial of employment.
A. 
The applicant shall have 10 business days, after receiving notice that he/she will not become employed by the City, to respond to the City regarding his/her criminal history; and
B. 
The City shall provide the applicant with an opportunity to present information/evidence to rebut the accuracy and/or relevance of the criminal history information, including any information pertaining to the factors listed in § 30-4 above; and
C. 
The City shall review any information submitted by the applicant prior to its decision to affirm or reverse its decision to deny, refuse, rescind or revoke a contingent offer of employment to the applicant.
The City of Atlantic City shall only conduct business with vendors that have adopted and implemented policies, practices and standards, regarding an applicant's prior criminal history, that are consistent with the City's policies, practices and standards.
The party responsible for awarding City contracts shall review all vendors' policies, practices and standards for the hiring of applicants with prior criminal convictions to ensure that the vendors' practices, policies and standards are consistent with the City's policies, practices and standards.
The vendors' policies, practices and standards on employing applicants with prior criminal convictions shall be made a part of the criteria to be considered by the City when awarding contracts.
[Adopted 8-6-2014 by Ord. No. 44-2014]
Article 1. It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the City Counsel that the hiring of Atlantic City residents to the greatest extent possible by developers, construction contractors and any other entities or individuals which have been contracted to conduct business with the City of Atlantic City shall be applied to any and all federally or state-assisted, City-sponsored or privately funded developments within the City limits, with bona fide Atlantic City residents being afforded a minimum of 40% of the total employee worker hours in each construction trade and/or company position. The term "employee" shall apply to persons filling apprenticeship and on-the-job training positions, and said developers, contractors and employers may rely upon the traditional referral methods in the hiring of employees, journeyman, apprentices, trainees and helpers.
A. 
The City of Atlantic City requires, as part of its bid specifications and contract stipulations, that all/any prospective contractors bidding for a municipal contract in a service provider category take affirmative steps to the greatest extent feasible to employ 40% of qualified Atlantic City residents.
B. 
Contractors awarded municipal contracts in compliance with Subsection A above are required to submit semiannual progress reports to the Office of the City Clerk, the Office of Affirmative Action and to the user agency, containing an accurate record of the number of Atlantic City residents hired as well as the number of Atlantic City residents currently employed on the project; the number of training positions, if any, and the amount of positions that will be filled by Atlantic City residents; the necessary level of job skills required of Atlantic City residents to plan and implement the work to be done on the job. In semiannual reports, the contractor should document all good faith efforts in their actions to hire Atlantic City residents. Examples of such documentation should consist of the following:
(1) 
Copies of all advertisements for training and employment.
(2) 
A list of Atlantic City residents who applied or otherwise expressed interest in training positions or employment.
(3) 
Letters to community organizations informing them of employment opportunities.
C. 
All advertisements made by or on behalf of the City or any of its departments for bids, requests for proposals, or other specifications in pursuance of any law requiring the advertisements for bids shall include specific reference to Subsections A and B of this section.
The City Council does hereby establish a First Source Employment Linkage Program to facilitate and encourage private sector employment opportunities to qualified Atlantic City residents by requiring the recipient of any economic incentive to execute a first source agreement and make a good faith effort to hire qualified Atlantic City residents for all long-term jobs.
A. 
To facilitate this program, the Atlantic City First Source Employment Committee shall be established (herein after "the Committee"). The Committee shall consist of a designee from the City's Human Resource Department, the City's Affirmative Action/EEO Officer, and a representative of the City Solicitor's Office and a member of City Council. The Committee shall serve as intermediary between the business community and a network of service providers, job training agencies and educational institutions to best maximize the socio-economic potential of this agreement.
B. 
The Committee shall attempt to evenly distribute job referrals amongst the network of service providers, job training agencies and educational institutions. This effort is to ensure that the City as a whole is able to benefit from this first source program. The network of service providers, job training agencies and educational institutions shall refer to this Committee only qualified individuals that reside in the City of Atlantic City.
C. 
The Committee shall send semi-annual reports to the administration and City Council outlining the number of individuals referred by the Committee to be interviewed during that particular semi-annual; how many individuals referred by the Committee were hired during that particular semiannual; the dates of termination of any individual referred by the Committee that was hired and the length of each individual's employment; if applicable, from which service provider, job training agency or educational institution the hired individuals were referred to the Committee; which ward the hired individuals reside in; and the wages and benefits received by the hired individuals. If a lack of good faith has been demonstrated on the part of any recipient, this shall also be included in the reports. The Committee shall also include recommendations and suggestions about how this employment linkage program could be improved.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY OF ATLANTIC CITY
Includes its employees, agents and assignees.
ECONOMIC INCENTIVE
As any of the following economic benefits approved by the City Council for a recipient:
A. 
A tax abatement or exemption for a property which reduces the cumulative amount of taxes otherwise due by $25,000 or more;
B. 
Any federal, state, county or municipal grant or loan of $25,000 or more;
C. 
City property which is conveyed at a private sale for no or nominal consideration, which has an actual air market value of $25,000 or more;
D. 
A City contract for services over $100,000 (excluding contracts executed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5); and/or
E. 
Any/all prospective contractors bidding for a municipal contract in a service-provider category.
EXCLUSIVITY PERIOD
The period of time commencing within the pre-hiring notification of the Committee by the recipient, during which time the recipient may not take any actions to fill a position, including but not limited to advertising, announcing, recruiting or interviewing. The length of the exclusivity period shall be determined by the Committee after consultation with the recipient, but in no event shall be less than 15 days;
FIRST SOURCE AGREEMENT
A binding agreement between the City and any recipient of an economic incentive, wherein the recipient agrees to make a good faith effort to hire qualified individuals who reside in the City of Atlantic City.
GOOD FAITH EFFORT
Includes but is not limited to all of the following activities:
A. 
Pre-hiring notification and exclusivity period: At least 15 days prior to advertising for any employees, the recipient shall submit to the Committee a written notice of the number and qualifications of the prospective employees needed for any long-term job, as well as a description of the job to be filled. This description shall include the work hours, wage scale, benefits and hiring schedule of the positions. This will enable the Committee to refer qualified applicants to the recipient. During this period, the recipient shall adhere to the above requirements of the exclusivity period. If any of the information submitted to the Committee relating to the number or qualifications of prospective employees or the description of the job to be filled is modified, the recipient shall file a pre-hiring notification and the exclusivity period shall recommence. For positions not covered by this agreement, the recipient may notify the Committee when such positions become available so the Committee can notify the community that such opportunities exist.
B. 
Mandatory contract provisions: All contracts entered into by the recipient or the recipient's contractor shall be required to comply with this article and the agreement executed thereunder. The recipient will require the contractor or subcontractor, regardless of tier, to complete and provide the Committee with a statement that it will comply with this article and the agreement executed thereunder.
C. 
Collective bargaining agreement: The recipient will cause the contractor to submit to the Committee copies of any collective bargaining agreements covering workers to be employed, including any collective bargaining agreements of any subcontractor.
D. 
Free hiring interviews: The recipient shall interview any applicant referred to it by the Committee.
E. 
Semi-annual reports: The recipient will submit written semi-annual employment reports to the Committee in the form to be provided by the Committee. If the recipient failed to fill any position with any qualified applicant referred by the Committee, the report will include the reasons why.
F. 
Other reports: The recipient shall furnish such other reports as are reasonably required by the Committee to implement the purposes of this agreement.
G. 
Record access: The recipient will insure that the Committee will have reasonable access to all files and records reasonably necessary to confirm the accuracy of the information set forth in the reports, including but not limited to records of employment and employment advertisement, application forms and EEO-1 forms.
H. 
Work place access: The recipient shall ensure that the Committee has reasonable access to the project site to physically monitor the worksite to verify the accuracy of the information set forth in the reports.
LONG-TERM JOB
Those positions 90 days or more in duration. Positions created as a result of internal promotions, terminations or expansions within the recipient's workforce which are to be filled by new employees are included. However, positions filled through promotion from within the recipient's existing workforce are not covered positions under this agreement.
RECIPIENT
Any individual, partnership, association, organization, for-profit corporation or other entity, whether public or private, which receives an economic incentive. This includes any contractor, subcontractor or agent of the recipient.
SERVICE PROVIDER
Vendors who provide services to the City in the area of construction-related services.
Prior to implementation of this First Source Employment Linkage Program, the Committee must prepare and present to the City Counsel a strategy as to how it will serve as intermediary between the business community and the service providers, job training agencies and educational institutions. This strategy should include:
A. 
Creating an efficient network to identify qualified job recipients between the Committee and the network of service providers, job training agencies and educational institutions, as identified by the Committee.
B. 
Creating all necessary documents to ensure compliance on the part of any recipient. At a minimum, these documents will detail the names, addresses, dates of hire/termination, wages, benefits and positions hired for all new hires and terminations during each semi-annual period.