§ 316 — Enforcement

* § 316. Enforcement. 1. Upon receipt by the director of a complaint\nby a contracting agency that a contractor has violated the provisions of\na state contract which have been included to comply with the provisions\nof this article or of a contractor that a contracting agency has\nviolated such provisions or has failed or refused to issue a waiver\nwhere one has been applied for pursuant to subdivision six of section\nthree hundred thirteen of this article or has denied such application,\nthe director shall attempt to resolve the matter giving rise to such\ncomplaint. If efforts to resolve such matter to the satisfaction of all\nparties are unsuccessful, the director shall refer the matter, within\nthirty days of the receipt of the complaint, to the division's hearing\nofficers. Upon conclusion of the administrative hearing, the hearing\nofficer shall submit to the director his or her decision regarding the\nalleged violation of the contract and recommendations regarding the\nimposition of sanctions, fines or penalties. The director, within ten\ndays of receipt of the decision, shall file a determination of such\nmatter and shall cause a copy of such determination along with a copy of\nthis article to be served upon the contractor by personal service or by\ncertified mail return receipt requested. The decision of the hearing\nofficer shall be final and may only be vacated or modified as provided\nin article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules upon an\napplication made within the time provided by such article. The\ndetermination of the director as to the imposition of any fines,\nsanctions or penalties shall be reviewable pursuant to article\nseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. The penalties imposed\nfor any violation which is premised upon either a fraudulent or\nintentional misrepresentation by the contractor or the contractor's\nwillful and intentional disregard of the minority and women-owned\nparticipation requirement included in the contract may include a\ndetermination that the contractor shall be ineligible to submit a bid to\nany contracting agency or be awarded any such contract for a period not\nto exceed one year following the final determination; provided however,\nif a contractor has previously been determined to be ineligible to\nsubmit a bid pursuant to this section, the penalties imposed for any\nsubsequent violation, if such violation occurs within five years of the\nfirst violation, may include a determination that the contractor shall\nbe ineligible to submit a bid to any contracting agency or be awarded\nany such contract for a period not to exceed five years following the\nfinal determination. The division of minority and women's business\ndevelopment shall maintain a website listing all contractors that have\nbeen deemed ineligible to submit a bid pursuant to this section and the\ndate after which each contractor shall once again become eligible to\nsubmit bids.\n 2. Any fines, or portion thereof, imposed pursuant to the foregoing\nsubdivision, or imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction related to\nconvictions involving fraud related to this article or otherwise\ninvolving a minority or women-owned business enterprise, may be required\nby the entity imposing such fines to be paid to the minority and\nwomen-owned business enterprise fund established pursuant to section\nninety-seven-k of the state finance law.\n * NB Repealed July 1, 2028\n