OLR · Agency plan

Office of Labor Relations

Preliminary REP pages 342-347

Plan area: Good Governance & Inclusive Decision-Making

3 Short-Term 3 Medium-Term 1 Long-Term

Mission & Commitment

The City of New York values our employees, retirees, and their families and recognizes our employees are the engine that keeps our city running. The NYC Office of Labor Relations (OLR) is a Mayoral agency whose mission is to negotiate and implement fair collective bargaining agreements while being responsible to NYC taxpayers; provide benefits that support the health and well-being of our workforce; and support the needs of our partner agencies and municipal unions. OLR's purpose includes: representing the Mayor in all labor relations with unions representing City employees (including 149 collective bargaining units); administering health benefits, Management Benefits Fund, Employee Assistance Program, WorkWell NYC, and Citywide Tax Favored Benefit Programs; acting as resource to agencies regarding workforce labor issues; and collaborating with the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) to achieve affordable and high-quality healthcare. OLR is working with DCAS, OMB, and the Pay Equity Cabinet to examine potential pay inequity in NYC, identifying gender and/or race pay disparities within selected civil service titles and the existence and magnitude of any occupational segregation in the City's workforce.

Spotlight wins

WorkWell NYC's Project B.U.I.L.D. (Building Understanding, Inclusion, Learning, and Diversity) is committed to addressing matters of injustice and inequity by providing platforms to educate and develop awareness to improve the health and wellness of City employees. Programs include: annual Art is Life employee showcase; education programs on identities, equity, race and justice, and allyship in the workplace. The 2024 Art is Life program attracted 134 artist submissions and approximately 700 participants.The Flexible Spending Program/Management Benefit Fund developed a portal for online claims access and digital submission of claims helping improve accessibility of the process.Employee Health Benefits have added a new customer service call center to help enhance accessibility to retirees' benefits programs. The call center receives approximately 1,200 calls per month.OLR's Legal Division internship program does outreach for all positions and internships through channels including HBCUs, CUNY, SUNY, and various diverse bar associations and groups.During the most recent round of labor negotiations, OLR reached an agreement with DC 37 to provide a $10,000 retention bonus for 911 operators through funding allocated to target titles with recruitment and retention issues. The agreement also provided for over 100 city titles to reach an $18/hour rate.

Short-Term Goals

Short-Term Procurement & M/WBE Contracting

OLR has had a 30% goal for M/WBE utilization and will continue to implement and evaluate goals going forward to ensure they are consistent with federal, state and local law

Population focus: M/WBE owners

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: Through 2026, maintain consistent implementation and assessment for M/WBE utilization.

Incorporate language regarding racial equity emphasis and expectations in RFP/RFX/RFIs and micro-purchases, where appropriate
Reinforce requirement for M/WBE database to be used to source goods and services

Goal ID: OLR-G01

Short-Term Government Oversight, Records & Legal Services

Build disaggregated data pipelines for OLR programs to identify potential racial disparities in participation and barriers to access

Population focus: General

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: By the end of 2026, analyze existing demographic data focused on gender and race of the participants in 100% of City funded benefit programs administered by OLR, and identify and implement methods to collect data from other OLR programs.

Gather and analyze existing participation data across programs to identify any disparities that may exist amongst underrepresented groups
Where data does not currently exist, develop a plan to gather data or identify alternate approaches (e.g., salary levels, home address/zip codes, union representation)
Identify potential challenges with collecting data and ensure it doesn't lead to any barriers to participation
Implement a clear and resourced procedure and structure for regularly tracking and analyzing participation in OLR programs
Compare and track how statistics for OLR programs align with NYC Government Workforce Profile Report statistics on race and gender

Goal ID: OLR-G02

Short-Term Workforce Diversity & Staff Training

Review OLR’s current hiring and promotional process to ensure equity at all stages including job posting, interviews, and hiring to reduce potential workforce disparities

Population focus: General

Goal ID: OLR-G03

Medium-Term Goals

Medium-Term Equity in Agency Programs, Services & Resource Allocation

Leverage OLR spending power to advance equity in the work of our partners and strengthen a commitment to racial equity in their services. OLR will continue to implement and evaluate goals going forward to ensure they are consistent with federal, state and local law.

Population focus: General

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: By 2028, collaborate with 100% of vendors to assess their equity programs and policies.

Identify existing use of subcontractors by vendor to establish baseline
Review agency partnerships and request reports from different entities
Engage in discussions regarding priorities based on historical services disparities

Goal ID: OLR-G04

Medium-Term Community Engagement & Participation

Ensure all NYC employees maximize their benefits and obtain the full value of their employment by increasing participation in OLR programs through targeted and tailored outreach and program design

Population focus: Agency staff / employees

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: By 2028, expand the number of historically underrepresented participants based on agency analysis enrolled across 100% of City funded benefit programs administered by OLR.

Create targeted or new campaigns/programs to target underrepresented communities of color
Build off new targeted campaigns for Health Programs (e.g., Smoking Cessation, Diabetes Prevention, Cancer Screening, Deferred Comp, EAP, WorkWell NYC)
Work with communications expert to assess OLR collateral, forms and website and make adjustments as required
Simplify enrollment, educational, and communication materials so that City employees, particularly those of underrepresented backgrounds, have less barriers to access our programs

Goal ID: OLR-G05

Medium-Term Pay Equity & Internal Workforce Equity

Collaborate with the Pay Equity Cabinet to determine whether there are issues of pay inequity and occupational segregation in our city workforce and identify recommendations to address changes/solutions

Population focus: General

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: By 2027, publish a report identifying any disparities in analyzed titles.

Participate in subcommittee working to identify a vendor that will conduct review of pay equity
Work with DCAS and external party to craft the study and to develop recommendations
Work with DCAS, Pay Equity Cabinet, Law Department, OMB and Mayor's Office to develop recommendations for implementation

Goal ID: OLR-G06

Long-Term Goals

Long-Term Government Oversight, Records & Legal Services

Invest and commit a percentage of the OLR budget to advance racial equity as it pertains to staffing, contracting, and programming

Population focus: General

Outcome & strategies

Outcome: By 2034, expand participation of underrepresented groups across OLR contracting, programming, and staffing.

Continuously review representation in all OLR programs and vendor staff/subcontractors ensuring equitable participation across all categories
Dedicate staff resources towards maintaining the diversity data for both internal and external usage
Work with our vendors to ensure they have diverse workforces, contractors, and programs for a diverse audience

Goal ID: OLR-G07

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