Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor David J. Canepa, District 5
Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, District 4
Subject: Establishment of a Contracting Policy for Janitorial Service Contracts Awarded by the County of San Mateo
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing and directing the County Executive Officer, or designee(s), to establish a contracting policy for janitorial service contracts awarded by the County.
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BACKGROUND:
The Department of Public Works is responsible for providing and managing contract custodial services for County owned and leased facilities. The Department currently relies on contract custodial services for 10 County facilities through a contract that expires October 31, 2025.
Janitors often face challenges on the job, including low wages, misclassification, exposure to high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses, and threats of sexual harassment on the job.
According to Profile of Janitorial Workers in California prepared by the UCLA Labor Center, private sector janitors experience high rates of poverty, with 40% having family incomes that fall below 200% of the federal poverty line, and almost two-thirds (62%) qualify as low-wage earners. In addition, according to the same report, more than one in four (27%) private sector janitors in California are over the age of 55 and more prone to injury, an issue exacerbated by findings that many janitorial services companies do not carry sufficient workers’ compensation insurance and janitors misclassified as independent contractors are unlikely to have workers compensation insurance.
DISCUSSION:
In light of the above-described issues facing janitorial workers, we recommend that the County establish a responsible contracting policy for contract janitorial services that would help to ensure contractors providing such services in County facilities meet necessary standards of service and the work is performed by well-trained workers who are paid decent wages and provided quality benefits.
Under the policy to be established, no contract for janitorial services may be awarded by the County to a prospective contractor, and no existing contract for such services may be amended, unless (a) the contractor or prospective contractor attests in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the employees who will provide services under the County contract are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that meets the criteria set forth in California Labor Code Section 238.5 or (b) the contractor or prospective contractor provides a letter of intent stating that the contractor or prospective contractor intends to enter into an agreement outlining a procedure for employees to exercise their right to be represented by a labor union.
The contemplated policy would further provide that any contractor under a County contract for janitorial services must pay its employees who perform work under the contract prevailing wages pursuant to the requirements of California Public Utilities Code Section 465, and the 60-day transition employment period for displaced janitorial service employees set forth in California Labor Code section 1061 is extended to 90 days.
The requirements of the policy could be waived if it is determined that the best interests of the County would be served by waiver, and the policy would not apply in at least the following circumstances: (a) where the requirements are preempted by local, state, or federal law or regulation (b) to contracts funded in whole or in part by a grant, donation, or gift to the County where the conditions attached to the grant, donation, or gift conflict with the requirements; (c) to contracts where all bids or proposals received are from qualifying non-profit organizations; and (d) to contracts exempt from competitive solicitation requirements in accordance with County policy or other controlling legal authority.
The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Approval of this action helps to ensure that janitorial services at County facilities are performed by reliable and high-quality service providers who pay their employees decent wages and provide quality benefits.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with authorizing the County Executive to develop this policy.