Vendor FAQ

When a City agency releases a procurement subject to Community Hiring, the solicitation will clearly indicate that Community Hiring applies. If the contract is subject to Community Hiring, the vendor must agree to make best efforts to achieve the workforce goal outlined in the contract. To support this, the vendor will connect with a “Referral Source” that can help connect the vendor with qualified Community Hires to meet the goal. The vendor with a City contract subject to Community Hiring must review the Community Hiring Rules and the terms of such contracts.

The vendor awarded a City contract subject to Community Hiring will gain free job recruitment services for access to job-ready and qualified talent who can count towards the Community Hiring Goal while meeting the vendor’s business needs.

Mayoral agency procurement contracts for construction, human services, professional services, and standard services are subject to the Community Hiring Rules. Procurements with a contract value of more than $3 million will have Community Hiring Goals with some exceptions.

The following contracts are not subject to Community Hiring requirements:

• Contracts $3 million or less
• Goods contracts
• City Council Discretionary contracts
• Contracts subject to federal or state funding requirements that preclude or substantially conflict with Community Hiring Goals
• Intergovernmental contracts with OGS and GSA
• Government-to-Government contracts
• Mentoring program contracts as defined in Section 1206 or 1309 of the NYC Charter
• Preferred source contracts
• Contracts subject to Section 1-02(f) of the PPB Rules
• Investigative or confidential services contracts
• Contracts performed by city-affiliated not-for-profit corporation
• HPD emergency demolition services contracts
• DOF banking services and electronic payment services contracts
• Emergency procurement contracts* pursuant to Section 315 of the NYC Charter

*While emergency procurement contracts are not subject to Community Hiring, the City has the discretion to set goals where possible.

For the non-construction services (professional, human, standard services), if the prime contract is subject to Community Hiring, only subcontracts with a value exceeding $20,000 are subject to Community Hiring.

Yes, Community Hiring does not preclude contracts from having M/WBE participation goals.  The vendor must continue to comply with the M/WBE requirements.

HireNYC is a suite of various programs with different requirements that will be phased out and replaced with Community Hiring. Vendors are required to comply with the HireNYC requirements under any existing contracts.

No, Community Hiring does not apply retroactively to contracts registered before the Community Hiring Rules went into effect.

Yes. Sole Source Procurements are subject to Community Hiring. 

Community Hiring Goals do not apply to contracts with a value at or below $3 million. Since the MWBE Small Purchase threshold is currently $1.5 million, MWBE Small Purchases will not have Community Hiring Goals. 

If the anticipated contract award(s) are expected to be over $3 million, the solicitation will include the Community Hiring requirements. If the Master Services Agreement is subject to Community Hiring, then the vendor is obligated to comply with the Community Hiring requirements once the cumulative value of the Task Orders exceeds $3 million.

Community Hiring Goals do not apply to contracts with a value of $3 million or below. If the original contract did not include a Community Hiring Goal, an increase in contract value (through renewal, extension, etc.) alone would not subject the contract to Community Hiring. 

Yes, Community Hiring Goals apply to procurements using a PQL unless another exemption applies.

The vendor cannot submit a waiver request to remove or reduce the Community Hiring Goals.

Yes, Community Hiring may apply to contracts that are subject to Section 3 as long as the federal requirements do not explicitly preclude or substantially conflict with Community Hiring Goals.  Any requirements regarding Community Hiring or Section 3 will be outlined in the solicitation documents.

For contracts subject to a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which is defined in the Rules as a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that the City enters into, the workforce goal outlined in the PLA is the Community Hiring Goal that apply to those contracts.  While the 2020 and 2021 City PLAs may use slightly different workforce terminology (e.g., Program Hires) from the recent PLAs, the Community Hiring requirements under the contract are the same regardless of which PLA applies.

The City’s Apprenticeship Program Directive requires certain vendors with construction and construction-related maintenance contracts to maintain apprenticeship agreements with programs registered with and approved by the New York State Department of Labor. Contracts subject to the Apprenticeship Program Directive can also have a Community Hiring Goal. The vendor is obligated to comply with both workforce initiatives.

The Community Hiring Goal depends on the service being procured.

• For building services, the Community Hiring Goal is for 30% of building services opportunity labor hours to be performed by Residence-Based Community Hires.
• For construction, the Community Hiring Goal will depend on whether the construction work is subject to a project labor agreement (PLA). 

If not subject to a PLA, the Community Hiring Goal is for 30% of construction trade labor hours to be performed by Residence-Based Community Hires, as outlined in the Community Hiring Rules.

If subject to a PLA, the workforce goals set forth in the PLA will apply. The solicitations for contracts subject to a PLA will outline the applicable workforce goal.

• For professional services, human services, and standard services (except building services), the Community Hiring Goal is to hire 1 Income-Based Community Hire for every $500K in contract value

A Residence-Based Community Hire is an individual who resides in NYCHA housing or in an Economically Disadvantaged Region. The Community Hiring Goal on building services and construction contracts is to employ Residence-Based Community Hires.

An Economically Disadvantaged Region is defined as a ZIP code in which at least 15% of the population lives below the federal poverty threshold.  The full list of ZIP codes can be found on the Economically Disadvantaged Regions page of OCH’s website.

An Income-Based Community Hire is an individual with an individual or household income that falls below 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. The Community Hiring Goal on professional services, human services, and standard services (except building services) is to employ Income-Based Community Hires.

If the vendor is awarded the contract subject to Community Hiring, the vendor must make best efforts toward meeting the Community Hiring Goal and adhere to the Community Hiring requirements, including, but not limited to, publishing Employment Opportunities and reporting on the progress towards meeting Community Hiring Goals. 

The vendor entering into a City contract agrees to the responsibilities set forth in the Community Hiring Rules:

• Make best efforts to employ Community Hires to meet the applicable goal
• Require its subcontractors to agree to make best efforts to meet the applicable goal
• Publicly disclose any vacancy to perform services under the contract (except construction work subject to a project labor agreement)
• Notify Referral Sources of the applicable goal and any vacancies to be filled
• Enroll in an electronic system designated by the OCH Director
• Monitor and document compliance with Community Hiring

Best efforts may vary across vendors and their circumstances. The City will determine whether the vendor made best efforts on a case-by-case basis, considering how the vendor:

• Advertised Employment Opportunities
• Evaluated Community Hires’ qualifications in good faith
• Collaborated with Referral Sources or apprenticeship programs
• Organized project tasks to remove barriers to meeting the Community Hiring Goal
• Tracked and documented efforts to meet the Community Hiring Goal
• Contacted OCH at routine intervals
• Undertook all commercially reasonable actions to achieve workforce goals.

However, making best efforts does not mean the vendor has to:

• Undertake undue financial burden
• Terminate or reduce work levels of existing employees
• Extend job offer to individuals whose labor is not commercially useful
• Forgo filling building service opportunities with Absorption Hires on building services Contracts
• Forgo requesting, employing, or hiring any individuals or assigning individuals to perform construction Work in accordance with terms of an agreement with a Referral Source for the sourcing of labor

The vendor with a Community Hiring Goal is required to connect with a Referral Source for purposes of meeting the goal. However, the vendor has the discretion to identify the positions to be filled by Community Hires. The vendor who fails to meet the Community Hiring Goal will need to demonstrate the efforts made to meet the Community Hiring Goal, including the vacancies identified and the efforts made to review and organize the work under the contract in order to eliminate the obstacles to meeting the Community Hiring Goal.

No, the vendor is not required to terminate or reduce the work levels of existing employees to meet the Community Hiring Goal.

If the vendor does not have a vacancy or hiring need, Community Hiring does not require the vendor to hire or employ a Community Hire whose labor would not be commercially useful. However, the vendor will be responsible for demonstrating the best efforts made to meet the Community Hiring Goal.

Yes, if the vendor who uses union labor is awarded a contract with a Community Hiring Goal, then such vendor is required to comply with Community Hiring. However, the vendor is not required to violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement in order to meet the Community Hiring requirements.

No. Income-Based Community Hires must be referred by a Referral Source. Referral Sources are responsible for connecting vendors with jobseekers who are certified as Income-Based Community Hires. Community Hiring does not require or encourage the vendor to ask its job candidates about their income. 

Possibly. For building services and construction contracts, the Community Hiring Goal is based on the percentage of trade labor hours performed by Residence-Based Community Hires. The vendor may employ existing workforce who are certified as Residence-Based Community Hires via the certified payroll reports.

For professional services, human services, or standard services (except building services) contracts, the Community Hiring Goal is to hire Income-Based Community Hires based on the total value of the transaction.  Existing employees do not count towards the fulfillment of Community Hiring Goals.

For construction and building services contracts, the Community Hiring Goals are based on a percentage of trade labor hours so the labor hours of existing employees that are certified Residence-Based Community Hires may count towards the fulfillment of Community Hiring Goals on such contracts.

For construction and building services contracts, the Community Hiring Goals are based on trade labor hours performed on the specific project so the Residence-Based Community Hires must work on that project.

For professional services, human services, or standard services (except building services) contracts, the Income-Based Community Hire must be hired during the term of the contract that is subject to Community Hiring. 

If the vendor fails to meet its Community Hiring Goal, then the vendor must demonstrate that it made best efforts to meet the requirements. Where the vendor fails to meet its Community Hiring Goal and does not demonstrate that it made best efforts, then the vendor may be found non-compliant and subject to civil penalties. The City will issue a Notice of Non-Compliance with further instructions on how to respond.  If the vendor is found non-compliant, the City may withhold the civil penalty amount from the contract.

No, agencies cannot consider a vendor’s past track record with Community Hiring as part of the evaluation criteria on a solicitation. However, the vendor’s performance with Community Hiring requirements, like any other contract requirement, may be evaluated by an agency as part of a performance evaluation on a contract with a Community Hiring Goal. Performance evaluations are considered by an agency as part of determining that the vendor is “responsible” for a future contract award.

No, Community Hiring does not exclude the vendor in highly specialized occupations/trades. The vendor should carefully consider its hiring needs and the skills and experiences needed to perform the work. Community Hiring does not require the vendor to hire anyone whose labor is not commercially useful to the vendor’s business.

The vendor may have multiple contracts subject to Community Hiring Goals (either with the same agency or multiple agencies). For a construction contract or building services contract subject to Community Hiring, each goal remains solely connected to the respective contract awarded since the goals are based on labor hours performed on such contract. For all other services (professional, human, and standard except building services), the Community Hiring Goal for such contracts awarded will be aggregated to form one goal for each vendor.

The vendor is required to contact a Referral Source to be connected to Community Hires who are qualified to meet the requirements for the job. If the referred Community Hires do not meet the job qualifications, the vendor is encouraged to connect with other Referral Sources from the Directory. However, the vendor is not required to extend an offer of employment to anyone whose labor would not be commercially useful in view of factors including, but not limited to, the skills expertise, or licenses relevant to the vendor’s work.

In order to help achieve the Community Hiring Goals, the vendor is required to contact a Referral Source. Referral Sources certify jobseekers as Community Hires and help ensure that the jobseekers meet the vendors’ employment needs.

A Referral Source is an entity responsible for connecting vendors with qualified Community Hires for purposes of meeting the Community Hiring Goal. Referral Sources include the City’s public workforce system (e.g., SBS’s Workforce1 and HRA’s Business Link), union referral systems, and other entities that provide job placement or workforce development services. 

Yes, the vendor awarded a contract subject to Community Hiring is required to contact a Referral Source for purposes of meeting the Community Hiring Goal.  Referral Sources, such as the City’s Workforce1 system, have experience working with employers in different sectors that use online applications.

The Office of Community Hiring (OCH) will work with the vendor and help find the best way to incorporate Community Hiring into the already established processes.

There is no set quota on how many Community Hires should be interviewed. The vendor’s efforts to interview Community Hires will be a factor for determining whether the vendor made best efforts to meet the Community Hiring Goal.

The vendor is responsible for maintaining records documenting:

• Publication of Employment Opportunities, if applicable
• Community Hires employed through a Referral Source
• Labor hours performed by Community Hires (this information may be maintained on certified payroll reports)
• Efforts to meet the Community Hiring Goal
• Compliance with or progress towards meeting the Community Hiring Goal

The vendor must use specific reporting systems to comply with Community Hiring requirements. For construction and building services contracts, the vendor will use a digital labor compliance tool to submit Certified Payroll Reports. For other services, reporting will be centralized through OCH. These systems will help ensure accountability and transparency by allowing the City to monitor the vendor’s progress toward meeting Community Hiring Goals.

Yes, OCH will offer vendor support, including system navigation training, guidance on workforce development practices, and ongoing support throughout the hiring process. Please continue to visit the OCH website for updated resources and subscribe to the OCH newsletter for more information and updates on Community Hiring.

If there are questions about Community Hiring, please contact OCH by visiting the Contact Us page of OCH’s website. If there are specific questions related to a specific procurement or a contract with a Community Hiring Goal, please contact the designated representative of the contracting agency.