Debarred and Non-Responsible Entities

It is imperative that the State conduct business only with responsible entities to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not paid to entities or individuals that lack integrity, are incapable of providing satisfactory performance, or fail to comply with existing laws.

To ensure uniform practices for determining the responsibility of potential vendors prior to contract award, and the continuing responsibility of vendors during the course of a contract, New York State issued Executive Order 192 (“EO 192”) on January 15, 2019.  EO 192 requires State agencies and authorities to determine if the contract awardee has been debarred from award of a future State contract or been found non-responsible by a State agency or authority. EO 192 is available at the following link:

Executive Order 192: Imposing Continuing Vendor Integrity Requirements in State Contracts

Guidance for the Implementation of EO 192 is available here:

Executive Order 192 Implementation Guidance

In addition, by Memorandum dated April 3, 2013 (the “2013 Memorandum”), the Secretary to the Governor directed State agencies and authorities to include provisions in State contracts requiring that contractors remain responsible throughout the term of their contracts.  These contract provisions give State agencies and authorities (i) the right to suspend work under the contract if information is discovered that calls into question the responsibility of the contractor and (ii) the right to terminate the contract if the agency or authority decides that the contractor is not responsible.  The 2013 Memorandum is available here:

2013 Memorandum on Responsibility Provisions in state contracts

In accordance with EO 192, the Office of General Services (“OGS”) is required to post a list of debarred entities.  The New York State Department of Labor maintains a database of individuals and entities that are prohibited from bidding on or being awarded a State contract based upon violations of Articles 8 or 9 of the Labor Law or violations of the Workers’ Compensation Law.  That database can be found at the following link:

Database of debarred entities

Although there are other State laws authorizing the debarment of individuals and entities from State contracting, OGS has not been made aware that any individuals or entities have been debarred pursuant to those laws.  If a State agency or authority advises OGS that it has debarred an individual or entity pursuant to such laws, OGS will post that information on this page.

State agencies and authorities should also bear in mind that pursuant to Labor Law § 220-(3)(b)(3), any bidder that has been debarred by the federal government may not be awarded a public work contract unless the State agency or authority determines, after public notice and comment, that there is a compelling reason to allow the bidder to be awarded the relevant public work contract.  To determine if a bidder has been federally debarred, agencies and authorities should search the federal System for Award Management at the following link:

Federal System for award management

In accordance with EO 192 and the 2013 Memorandum, OGS is required to post a list of non-responsible entities.

If a bidder is on the list of non-responsible entities, State agencies and authorities are precluded by EO 192 from awarding the contract to the bidder unless the agency or authority obtains a waiver from the Counsel to the Governor.  Requests for a waiver should be submitted using the following form:

Waiver Request form

Please note that there is no waiver process for bidders that are debarred.  

In accordance with EO 192, if a State agency or authority debars a bidder or makes a determination that a bidder is not responsible, the agency or authority must report that determination to OGS within five days using the Submission of Debarment/Non-Responsibility Entities spreadsheet and emailing it to:  [email protected]

debarment/non-responsibility reporting spreadsheet

Debarred entities shall remain on the list of Debarred Entities until the debarment period ends in accordance with the relevant law, unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the debarment determination was in error.  Non-responsible entities shall remain on the list of Non-Responsible Entities for five years, unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the non-responsibility determination was in error.