Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.providencejournal.com
| PROVIDENCE — An advocacy group is suing the City of Providence, asserting that the city has failed for years to follow and enforce an ordinance that requires businesses that receive city grants or subsidies to give hiring preference to Providence residents.
Direct Action for Rights and Equality, or DARE, announced it was filing the suit Tuesday in Superior Court, Providence. DARE said in a news release that “any entity with more than four employees that receives $25,000 or more in public investment” is supposed to follow procedures “to ensure that Providence residents have the first opportunity to access any and all job openings.” But DARE contends that just 41 out of 1,110 new job openings reported by companies covered under the law were filled by using “First Source” job referrals, the name for the law, citing what DARE said is the city’s own reports. The lawsuit seeks a court-appointed monitor to ensure that Providence notifies employers of the law and starts sanctioning employers who don’t comply. It also asks for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from issuing any new tax-stabilization agreements, Providence Economic Development Partnership loans or other financing covered by the ordinance until it has “improved its compliance with the ordinance.” The ordinance covers “tax concessions, and/or abatements,…grants-in-aid, grants from the office of community development, office of… |
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