The City Council is poised to pass another mandate for private companies that would hit firms with millions of dollars in extra fees — increasing the cost of doing business.
Developers interested in building affordable housing with the city would face an extra $40 million in annual costs to comply with new wage-reporting requirements, according to a coalition of builders.
The bill, likely to pass at next Wednesday’s council meeting, targets companies vying for projects with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Builders would have to provide quarterly reports on the wages of all workers involved with their projects, getting specific as to whether they are paid by the hour, shift, day or on commission.
The firms winning construction contracts with HPD also will have to report all complaints related to a project that would be posted on the agency’s Web site for up to five years after work is completed.
Data on the background of each company and the names and titles of its employees also must be published under the bill.
“The wage-reporting mandates in [the bill] will not prevent bad actors from participating in the industry — after all, the onus is on the employer to report the underpayment of its workers,” according to a letter that 38 city-based developers sent council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Quinn argued that the measure will “at minimal taxpayer cost bring transparency in a process that allocates hundreds of millions of dollars in city funding for construction projects.”
Her aides strongly disputed the $40 million figure and insisted the costs would be minimal.
Mayor Bloomberg plans to veto the bill that his administration says would cost the city $1 million a year to implement — but it likely has enough council support for an override.