RCP Background : Responsible Contractor Policies (RCPs) ordinances or policies are adopted by municipalities, school districts, or other entities in order to set certain minimum compensation and other standards in bidding practices for construction work.

RCP Background  :
 
Responsible Contractor Policies (RCPs) ordinances or policies are adopted by municipalities, school districts, or other entities in order to set certain minimum compensation and other standards in bidding practices for construction work.
 
These include standards for pay, access to pensions, health insurance, and skill training, among other items.
 
The standards often include requirements for contractors to :
  • provide pensions and  employment-based health insurance
  • participate in state or federally-certified apprenticeship programs
  • comply with residency and/or affirmative action requirements
  • provide safety training (or to maintain a certain insurance modification rate)
  • pay prevailing wages, and to contribute to employee retirement plans.
 
Adopting such standards creates a level playing field for contractors who play by the rules, and protects responsible contractors in Connecticut - and their workers - from abuses such as employee misclassification.
 
RCPs may be established as 1) actual bidding requirements or 2) used in the pre-qualification or deliberation process in considering who is a qualified contractor.
 
A responsible contractor policy acts as an alternative to the “just take the lowest bid” mentality  by factoring in certain “community benefit” standards while ensuring bids are competitive..
 
It discourages contractors who try to "lowball" bids by shirking their responsibility to provide decent pay and benefits for their workers, and meet other statutory provisions.
 
In addition to passing RC laws,  citizens of state and local governments can add RC language to existing regulations in order to clarify contracts, ordinances, and even economic development subsidy agreements.
 
These provisions can be introduced by executive order, or in the form of policy directives and bidding specifications.