OBO Protects Small Businesses, Local Workers

MAKING AN IMPACT: Contract Compliance Division Manager Johnnie Burns trains Compliance Officer Angel Rodriguez.

By: Niyonsaba Magnifique

The Office of Business Opportunity’s (OBO) Contract Compliance Division ensures that Minority, Women Owned and Small Business Enterprises (MWSBEs) have equitable access to City of Houston contracting opportunities and that they are utilized to the full extent possible on contracts where they are listed. As OBO is committed to ensuring that workers are protected, the division also monitors labor standards on contracts and monitors the payment of proper wages on contracts.

Johnnie Burns, Contract Compliance Division Mananger, grew up on the north side of Milwaukee, where he experienced the effect of a lack of opportunities in the African-American community. This experience motivated him to seek a career in government where he could be part of an institution committed to diversity and inclusion. With over 20 years of experience in Government Equal Opportunity, supplier diversity, certification, compliance and Title VI programs, he now leads a team of 10 individuals in OBO’s Contract Compliance Division.

The team currently monitors and enforces City rules and regulations on over 1,300 contracts with an overall value of $8 billion dollars. To manage the high volume of contracts effectively, the division has implemented a system to perform compliance audits at set intervals - during 20%, 50%, and 75% of contract completion.

One of the main functions of the division is advocating for MWSBE firms. After a contract is approved by City Council, a letter is sent to each MWSBE subcontractor notifying them that they have been listed for MWSBE goal credit on the contract. The compliance team then works with the prime contractor that enters into a contract directly with the City of Houston to make sure that they are making good faith efforts to utilize all subcontracting firms approved in the MWSBE plan that was submitted in prime’s bid response. If prime contractors need to add, reduce, or remove subcontractors on their contracts, they must submit a formal Deviation Request, accompanied by strong evidence showing good cause why the changes should be made.

Compliance officers also evaluate certified payrolls submitted by contractors working on COH construction contracts weekly, to ensure that workers are paid according to the prevailing wage scale in-effect. And, they conduct project site visits on construction-related contracts where they observe employees at work, take pictures, and interview employees to gather information regarding their treatment, work classification, and compensation.

If workers are not being classified and paid appropriately on contracts, the contract compliance team issues a sanction to the prime contractor in the form of an underpayment notice. Following receipt of an underpayment notice, the prime contractor must ensure that all wages are paid to workers. Additionally, as a result of the underpayment, contractors are charged a penalty of $60 per day, per employee, for failing to pay the worker the appropriate wages at payroll.

According to Burns, his team is motivated by their collective undertstanding of the impact they can make in Houston.

“If we didn’t do our job, individuals would not get access to contracts and employees wouldn’t get paid the appropriate wages on job sites,” he said.