Article 2. Wages of California Labor Code >> Division 2. >> Part 7. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 2.
The Director of the Department of Industrial Relations shall
determine the general prevailing rate of per diem wages in accordance
with the standards set forth in Section 1773, and the director's
determination in the matter shall be final except as provided in
Section 1773.4. Nothing in this article, however, shall prohibit the
payment of more than the general prevailing rate of wages to any
workman employed on public work. Nothing in this act shall permit any
overtime work in violation of Article 3 of this chapter.
Except for public works projects of one thousand dollars
($1,000) or less, not less than the general prevailing rate of per
diem wages for work of a similar character in the locality in which
the public work is performed, and not less than the general
prevailing rate of per diem wages for holiday and overtime work fixed
as provided in this chapter, shall be paid to all workers employed
on public works.
This section is applicable only to work performed under contract,
and is not applicable to work carried out by a public agency with its
own forces. This section is applicable to contracts let for
maintenance work.
(a) A contractor or subcontractor shall not be qualified to
bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, subject to the requirements of
Section 4104 of the Public Contract Code, or engage in the
performance of any contract for public work, as defined in this
chapter, unless currently registered and qualified to perform public
work pursuant to Section 1725.5. It is not a violation of this
section for an unregistered contractor to submit a bid that is
authorized by Section 7029.1 of the Business and Professions Code or
by Section 10164 or 20103.5 of the Public Contract Code, provided the
contractor is registered to perform public work pursuant to Section
1725.5 at the time the contract is awarded.
(b) Notice of the requirement described in subdivision (a) shall
be included in all bid invitations and public works contracts, and a
bid shall not be accepted nor any contract or subcontract entered
into without proof of the contractor or subcontractor's current
registration to perform public work pursuant to Section 1725.5.
(c) An inadvertent error in listing a subcontractor who is not
registered pursuant to Section 1725.5 in a bid proposal shall not be
grounds for filing a bid protest or grounds for considering the bid
nonresponsive, provided that any of the following apply:
(1) The subcontractor is registered prior to the bid opening.
(2) Within 24 hours after the bid opening, the subcontractor is
registered and has paid the penalty registration fee specified in
subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
1725.5.
(3) The subcontractor is replaced by another registered
subcontractor pursuant to Section 4107 of the Public Contract Code.
(d) Failure by a subcontractor to be registered to perform public
work as required by subdivision (a) shall be grounds under Section
4107 of the Public Contract Code for the contractor, with the consent
of the awarding authority, to substitute a subcontractor who is
registered to perform public work pursuant to Section 1725.5 in place
of the unregistered subcontractor.
(e) The department shall maintain on its Internet Web site a list
of contractors who are currently registered to perform public work
pursuant to Section 1725.5.
(f) A contract entered into with any contractor or subcontractor
in violation of subdivision (a) shall be subject to cancellation,
provided that a contract for public work shall not be unlawful, void,
or voidable solely due to the failure of the awarding body,
contractor, or any subcontractor to comply with the requirements of
Section 1725.5 or this section.
(g) This section shall apply to any bid proposal submitted on or
after March 1, 2015, and any contract for public work entered into on
or after April 1, 2015.
(a) A joint labor-management committee established pursuant
to the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C.
Sec. 175a) may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction
against an employer that fails to pay the prevailing wage to its
employees, as required by this article. This action shall be
commenced not later than 18 months after the filing of a valid notice
of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in
which the public work or some part thereof was performed, or not
later than 18 months after acceptance of the public work, whichever
occurs last.
(b) (1) In an action brought pursuant to this section, the court
shall award restitution to an employee for unpaid wages, plus
interest, under Section 3289 of the Civil Code from the date that the
wages became due and payable, and liquidated damages equal to the
amount of unpaid wages owed, and may impose civil penalties, only
against an employer that failed to pay the prevailing wage to its
employees, in accordance with Section 1775, injunctive relief, or any
other appropriate form of equitable relief. The court shall follow
the same standards and have the same discretion in setting the amount
of penalties as are provided by subdivision (a) of Section 1775. The
court shall award a prevailing joint labor-management committee its
reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in maintaining the
action, including expert witness fees.
(2) An action pursuant to this section shall not be based on the
employer's misclassification of the craft of a worker in its
certified payroll records.
(3) Liquidated damages shall be awarded only if the complaint
alleges with specificity the wages due and unpaid to the individual
workers, including how that amount was calculated, and the defendant
fails to pay the wages, deposit that amount with the court to be held
in escrow, or provide proof to the court of an adequate surety bond
to cover the wages, within 60 days of service of the complaint.
Liquidated damages shall be awarded only on the wages found to be due
and unpaid. Additionally, if the defendant demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the court that the defendant had substantial grounds
for contesting that a portion of the allegedly unpaid wages were
owed, the court may exercise its discretion to waive the payment of
the liquidated damages with respect to that portion of the unpaid
wages.
(4) This subdivision does not limit any other available remedies
for a violation of this chapter.
(a) The State Public Works Enforcement Fund is hereby
created as a special fund in the State Treasury to be available upon
appropriation of the Legislature. All registration fees collected
pursuant to Section 1725.5 and any other moneys as are designated by
statute or order shall be deposited in the fund for the purposes
specified in subdivision (b).
(b) Moneys in the State Public Works Enforcement Fund shall be
used only for the following purposes:
(1) The reasonable costs of administering the registration of
contractors and subcontractors to perform public work pursuant to
Section 1725.5.
(2) The costs and obligations associated with the administration
and enforcement of the requirements of this chapter by the Department
of Industrial Relations.
(3) The monitoring and enforcement of any requirement of this code
by the Labor Commissioner on a public works project or in connection
with the performance of public work as defined pursuant to this
chapter.
(c) The annual contractor registration renewal fee specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 1725.5, and any adjusted application or
renewal fee, shall be set in amounts that are sufficient to support
the annual appropriation approved by the Legislature for the State
Public Works Enforcement Fund and not result in a fund balance
greater than 25 percent of the appropriation. Any yearend balance in
the fund greater than 25 percent of the appropriation shall be
applied as a credit when determining any fee adjustments for the
subsequent fiscal year.
(d) To provide adequate cashflow for the purposes specified in
subdivision (b), the Director of Finance, with the concurrence of the
Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, may approve
a short-term loan each fiscal year from the Labor and Workforce
Development Fund to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund.
(1) The maximum amount of the annual loan allowable may be up to,
but shall not exceed 50 percent of the appropriation authority of the
State Public Works Enforcement Fund in the same year in which the
loan was made.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a "short-term loan" is a
transfer that is made subject to both of the following conditions:
(A) Any amount loaned is to be repaid in full during the same
fiscal year in which the loan was made, except that repayment may be
delayed until a date not more than 30 days after the date of
enactment of the annual Budget Act for the subsequent fiscal year.
(B) Loans shall be repaid whenever the funds are needed to meet
cash expenditure needs in the loaning fund or account.
(a) All of the following are applicable to all public works
projects that are otherwise subject to the requirements of this
chapter:
(1) The call for bids and contract documents shall specify that
the project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by
the Department of Industrial Relations.
(2) The awarding body shall post or require the prime contractor
to post job site notices, as prescribed by regulation.
(3) Each contractor and subcontractor shall furnish the records
specified in Section 1776 directly to the Labor Commissioner, in the
following manner:
(A) At least monthly or more frequently if specified in the
contract with the awarding body.
(B) In a format prescribed by the Labor Commissioner.
(4) The department shall undertake those activities it deems
necessary to monitor and enforce compliance with prevailing wage
requirements.
(b) The Labor Commissioner may exempt a public works project from
compliance with all or part of the requirements of subdivision (a) of
this section if either of the following occurs:
(1) The awarding body has enforced an approved labor compliance
program, as defined in Section 1771.5, on all public works projects
under its authority, except those deemed exempt pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 1771.5, continuously since December 31,
2011.
(2) The awarding body has entered into a collective bargaining
agreement that binds all contractors performing work on the project
and that includes a mechanism for resolving disputes about the
payment of wages.
(c) (1) The requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall
only apply to contracts for public works projects awarded on or
after January 1, 2015.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall
only apply to the following projects:
(A) Projects that were subject to a requirement to furnish records
to the Compliance Monitoring Unit pursuant to Section 16461 of Title
8 of the California Code of Regulations, prior to the effective date
of this section.
(B) Projects for which the initial contract is awarded on or after
April 1, 2015.
(C) Any other ongoing project in which the Labor Commissioner
directs the contractors or subcontractors on the project to furnish
records in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(D) All projects, whether new or ongoing, on or after January 1,
2016.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 1771, an awarding body may
choose not to require the payment of the general prevailing rate of
per diem wages or the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for
holiday and overtime work for any public works project of twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000) or less when the project is for
construction work, or for any public works project of fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000) or less when the project is for
alteration, demolition, repair, or maintenance work, if the awarding
body has elected to initiate and has been approved by the Director of
Industrial Relations to enforce a labor compliance program pursuant
to subdivision (b) for every public works project under the authority
of the awarding body.
(b) For purposes of this section, a labor compliance program shall
include, but not be limited to, the following requirements:
(1) All bid invitations and public works contracts shall contain
appropriate language concerning the requirements of this chapter.
(2) A prejob conference shall be conducted with the contractor and
subcontractors to discuss federal and state labor law requirements
applicable to the contract.
(3) Project contractors and subcontractors shall maintain and
furnish, at a designated time, a certified copy of each weekly
payroll containing a statement of compliance signed under penalty of
perjury.
(4) The awarding body shall review, and, if appropriate, audit
payroll records to verify compliance with this chapter.
(5) The awarding body shall withhold contract payments when
payroll records are delinquent or inadequate.
(6) The awarding body shall withhold contract payments equal to
the amount of underpayment and applicable penalties when, after
investigation, it is established that underpayment has occurred.
(7) The awarding body shall comply with any other prevailing wage
monitoring and enforcement activities that are required to be
conducted by labor compliance programs by the Department of
Industrial Relations.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, "labor compliance program" means
a labor compliance program that is approved, as specified in state
regulations, by the Director of Industrial Relations.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, the Director of Industrial
Relations may revoke the approval of a labor compliance program in
the manner specified in state regulations.
(a) Any awarding body that enforces this chapter in
accordance with Section 1726 or 1771.5 shall provide notice of the
withholding of contract payments to the contractor and subcontractor,
if applicable. The notice shall be in writing and shall describe the
nature of the violation and the amount of wages, penalties, and
forfeitures withheld. Service of the notice shall be completed
pursuant to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure by
first-class and certified mail to the contractor and subcontractor,
if applicable. The notice shall advise the contractor and
subcontractor, if applicable, of the procedure for obtaining review
of the withholding of contract payments.
The awarding body shall also serve a copy of the notice by
certified mail to any bonding company issuing a bond that secures the
payment of wages covered by the notice and to any surety on a bond,
if their identities are known to the awarding body.
(b) The withholding of contract payments in accordance with
Section 1726 or 1771.5 shall be reviewable under Section 1742 in the
same manner as if the notice of the withholding was a civil penalty
order of the Labor Commissioner under this chapter. If review is
requested, the Labor Commissioner may intervene to represent the
awarding body.
(c) Pending a final order, or the expiration of the time period
for seeking review of the notice of the withholding, the awarding
body shall not disburse any contract payments withheld.
(d) From the amount recovered, the wage claim shall be satisfied
prior to the amount being applied to penalties. If insufficient money
is recovered to pay each worker in full, the money shall be prorated
among all workers.
(e) Wages for workers who cannot be located shall be placed in the
Industrial Relations Unpaid Wage Fund and held in trust for the
workers pursuant to Section 96.7. Penalties shall be paid into the
General Fund of the awarding body that has enforced this chapter
pursuant to Section 1771.5.
(a) (1) For contracts specified in subdivision (f), an
awarding body that chooses to use funds derived from either the
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002
or the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act
of 2004 for a public works project, shall initiate and enforce, or
contract with a third party to initiate and enforce, a labor
compliance program, as described in subdivision (b) of Section
1771.5, with respect to that public works project.
(2) If an awarding body described in paragraph (1) chooses to
contract with a third party to initiate and enforce a labor
compliance program for a project described in paragraph (1), that
third party shall not review the payroll records of its own employees
or the employees of its subcontractors, and the awarding body or an
independent third party shall review these payroll records for
purposes of the labor compliance program.
(b) This section applies to public works that commence on or after
April 1, 2003. For purposes of this subdivision, work performed
during the design and preconstruction phases of construction,
including, but not limited to, inspection and land surveying work,
does not constitute the commencement of a public work.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, if any campus of the
California State University chooses to use the funds described in
subdivision (a), then the "awarding body" is the Chancellor of the
California State University. For purposes of this subdivision, if the
chancellor is required by subdivision (a) to initiate and enforce,
or to contract with a third party to initiate and enforce, a labor
compliance program, then in addition to the requirements described in
subdivision (b) of Section 1771.5, the Chancellor of the California
State University shall review the payroll records on at least a
monthly basis to ensure the awarding body's compliance with the labor
compliance program.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, if an awarding body
described in subdivision (a) is the University of California or any
campus of that university, and that awarding body is required by
subdivision (a) to initiate and enforce, or to contract with a third
party to initiate and enforce, a labor compliance program, then in
addition to the requirements described in subdivision (b) of Section
1771.5, the payroll records shall be reviewed on at least a monthly
basis to ensure the awarding body's compliance with the labor
compliance program.
(d) (1) An awarding body described in subdivision (a) shall make a
written finding that the awarding body has initiated and enforced,
or has contracted with a third party to initiate and enforce, the
labor compliance program described in subdivision (a).
(2) (A) If an awarding body described in subdivision (a) is a
school district, the governing body of that district shall transmit
to the State Allocation Board, in the manner determined by that
board, a copy of the finding described in paragraph (1).
(B) The State Allocation Board shall not release the funds
described in subdivision (a) to an awarding body that is a school
district until the State Allocation Board has received the written
finding described in paragraph (1).
(C) If the State Allocation Board conducts a postaward audit
procedure with respect to an award of the funds described in
subdivision (a) to an awarding body that is a school district, the
State Allocation Board shall verify, in the manner determined by that
board, that the school district has complied with the requirements
of this subdivision.
(3) If an awarding body described in subdivision (a) is a
community college district, the Chancellor of the California State
University, or the office of the President of the University of
California or any campus of the University of California, that
awarding body shall transmit, in the manner determined by the
Director of Industrial Relations, a copy of the finding described in
paragraph (1) to the director of that department, or the director of
any successor agency that is responsible for the oversight of
employee wage and employee work hours laws.
(e) Because the reasonable costs directly related to monitoring
and enforcing compliance with the prevailing wage requirements are
necessary oversight activities, integral to the cost of construction
of the public works projects, notwithstanding Section 17070.63 of the
Education Code, the grant amounts as described in Chapter 12.5
(commencing with Section 17070.10) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title
1 of the Education Code for the costs of a new construction or
modernization project shall include the state's share of the
reasonable and directly related costs of the labor compliance program
used to monitor and enforce compliance with prevailing wage
requirements.
(f) This section shall only apply to contracts awarded prior to
January 1, 2012.
Workers employed by contractors or subcontractors in the
execution of any contract for public work are deemed to be employed
upon public work.
The body awarding any contract for public work, or otherwise
undertaking any public work, shall obtain the general prevailing rate
of per diem wages and the general prevailing rate for holiday and
overtime work in the locality in which the public work is to be
performed for each craft, classification, or type of worker needed to
execute the contract from the Director of Industrial Relations. The
holidays upon which those rates shall be paid need not be specified
by the awarding body, but shall be all holidays recognized in the
applicable collective bargaining agreement. If the prevailing rate is
not based on a collectively bargained rate, the holidays upon which
the prevailing rate shall be paid shall be as provided in Section
6700 of the Government Code.
In determining the rates, the Director of Industrial Relations
shall ascertain and consider the applicable wage rates established by
collective bargaining agreements and the rates that may have been
predetermined for federal public works, within the locality and in
the nearest labor market area. Where the rates do not constitute the
rates actually prevailing in the locality, the director shall obtain
and consider further data from the labor organizations and employers
or employer associations concerned, including the recognized
collective bargaining representatives for the particular craft,
classification, or type of work involved. The rate fixed for each
craft, classification, or type of work shall be not less than the
prevailing rate paid in the craft, classification, or type of work.
If the director determines that the rate of prevailing wage for
any craft, classification, or type of worker is the rate established
by a collective bargaining agreement, the director may adopt that
rate by reference as provided for in the collective bargaining
agreement and that determination shall be effective for the life of
the agreement or until the director determines that another rate
should be adopted.
(a) Per diem wages, as the term is used in this chapter or
in any other statute applicable to public works, includes employer
payments for the following:
(1) Health and welfare.
(2) Pension.
(3) Vacation.
(4) Travel.
(5) Subsistence.
(6) Apprenticeship or other training programs authorized by
Section 3093, to the extent that the cost of training is reasonably
related to the amount of the contributions.
(7) Worker protection and assistance programs or committees
established under the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of
1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a), to the extent that the activities of the
programs or committees are directed to the monitoring and enforcement
of laws related to public works.
(8) Industry advancement and collective bargaining agreements
administrative fees, provided that these payments are required under
a collective bargaining agreement pertaining to the particular craft,
classification, or type of work within the locality or the nearest
labor market area at issue.
(9) Other purposes similar to those specified in paragraphs (1) to
(8), inclusive.
(b) Employer payments include all of the following:
(1) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by the employer to a
trustee or third person pursuant to a plan, fund, or program.
(2) The rate of actual costs to the employer reasonably
anticipated in providing benefits to workers pursuant to an
enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or
program communicated in writing to the workers affected.
(3) Payments to the California Apprenticeship Council pursuant to
Section 1777.5.
(c) Employer payments are a credit against the obligation to pay
the general prevailing rate of per diem wages. However, credit shall
not be granted for benefits required to be provided by other state or
federal law, or for payments made to monitor and enforce laws
related to public works if those payments are not made to a program
or committee established under the federal Labor Management
Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a). Credits for employer
payments also shall not reduce the obligation to pay the hourly
straight time or overtime wages found to be prevailing. However, an
increased employer payment contribution that results in a lower
hourly straight time or overtime wage shall not be considered a
violation of the applicable prevailing wage determination if all of
the following conditions are met:
(1) The increased employer payment is made pursuant to criteria
set forth in a collective bargaining agreement.
(2) The basic hourly rate and increased employer payment are no
less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages and the
general prevailing rate for holiday and overtime work in the director'
s general prevailing wage determination.
(3) The employer payment contribution is irrevocable unless made
in error.
(d) An employer may take credit for an employer payment specified
in subdivision (b), even if contributions are not made, or costs are
not paid, during the same pay period for which credit is taken, if
the employer regularly makes the contributions, or regularly pays the
costs, for the plan, fund, or program on no less than a quarterly
basis.
(e) The credit for employer payments shall be computed on an
annualized basis when the employer seeks credit for employer payments
that are higher for public works projects than for private
construction performed by the same employer, unless one or more of
the following occur:
(1) The employer has an enforceable obligation to make the higher
rate of payments on future private construction performed by the
employer.
(2) The higher rate of payments is required by a project labor
agreement.
(3) The payments are made to the California Apprenticeship Council
pursuant to Section 1777.5.
(4) The director determines that annualization would not serve the
purposes of this chapter.
(f) (1) For the purpose of determining those per diem wages for
contracts, the representative of any craft, classification, or type
of worker needed to execute contracts shall file with the Department
of Industrial Relations fully executed copies of the collective
bargaining agreements for the particular craft, classification, or
type of work involved. The collective bargaining agreements shall be
filed after their execution and thereafter may be taken into
consideration pursuant to Section 1773 whenever they are filed 30
days prior to the call for bids. If the collective bargaining
agreement has not been formalized, a typescript of the final draft
may be filed temporarily, accompanied by a statement under penalty of
perjury as to its effective date.
(2) When a copy of the collective bargaining agreement has
previously been filed, fully executed copies of all modifications and
extensions of the agreement that affect per diem wages or holidays
shall be filed.
(3) The failure to comply with filing requirements of this
subdivision shall not be grounds for setting aside a prevailing wage
determination if the information taken into consideration is correct.
The body awarding any contract for public work, or
otherwise undertaking any public work, shall specify in the call for
bids for the contract, and in the bid specifications and in the
contract itself, what the general rate of per diem wages is for each
craft, classification, or type of worker needed to execute the
contract.
In lieu of specifying the rate of wages in the call for bids, and
in the bid specifications and in the contract itself, the awarding
body may, in the call for bids, bid specifications, and contract,
include a statement that copies of the prevailing rate of per diem
wages are on file at its principal office, which shall be made
available to any interested party on request. The awarding body shall
also cause a copy of the determination of the director of the
prevailing rate of per diem wages to be posted at each job site.
(a) (1) An awarding agency shall provide notice to the
Department of Industrial Relations of any public works contract
subject to the requirements of this chapter, within five days of the
award.
(2) The notice shall be transmitted electronically in a format
specified by the department and shall include the name of the
contractor, any subcontractor listed on the successful bid, the bid
and contract award dates, the contract amount, the estimated start
and completion dates, job site location, and any additional
information the department specifies that aids in the administration
and enforcement of this chapter.
(b) In lieu of responding to any specific request for contract
award information, the department may make the information provided
by awarding bodies pursuant to this section available for public
review on its Internet Web site.
Any prospective bidder or his representative, any
representative of any craft, classification or type of workman
involved, or the awarding body may, within 20 days after commencement
of advertising of the call for bids by the awarding body, file with
the Director of Industrial Relations a verified petition to review
the determination of any such rate or rates upon the ground that they
have not been determined in accordance with the provision of Section
1773 of this code. Within two days thereafter, a copy of such
petition shall be filed with the awarding body. The petition shall
set forth the facts upon which it is based. The Director of
Industrial Relations or his authorized representative shall, upon
notice to the petitioner, the awarding body and such other persons as
he deems proper, including the recognized collective bargaining
representatives for the particular crafts, classifications or types
of work involved, institute an investigation or hold a hearing.
Within 20 days after the filing of such petition, or within such
longer period as agreed upon by the director, the awarding body, and
all the interested parties, he shall make a determination and
transmit the same in writing to the awarding body and to the
interested parties.
Such determination shall be final and shall be the determination
of the awarding body. Upon receipt by it of the notice of the filing
of such petition the body awarding the contract or authorizing the
public work shall extend the closing date for the submission of bids
or the starting of work until five days after the determination of
the general prevailing rates of per diem wages pursuant to this
section.
Upon the filing of any such petition, notice thereof shall be set
forth in the next and all subsequent publications by the awarding
body of the call for bids. No other notice need be given to bidders
by the awarding body by publication or otherwise. The determination
of the director shall be included in the contract.
(a) The Director of Industrial Relations may establish
rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out this chapter,
including, but not limited to, the responsibilities and duties of
awarding bodies under this chapter.
(b) When a request is made to the director for a determination of
whether a specific project or type of work awarded or undertaken by a
political subdivision is a public work, he or she shall make that
determination within 60 days receipt of the last notice of support or
opposition from any interested party relating to that project or
type of work that was not unreasonably delayed, as determined by the
director. If the director deems that the complexity of the request
requires additional time to make that determination, the director may
have up to an additional 60 days if he or she certifies in writing
to the requestor, and any interested party, the reasons for the
extension. If the requestor is not a political subdivision, the
requester shall, within 15 days of the request, serve a copy of the
request upon the political subdivision, in which event the political
subdivision shall, within 30 days of its receipt, advise the director
of its position regarding the request. For projects or types of work
that are otherwise private development projects receiving public
funds, as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1720, the director
shall determine whether a specific project or type of work is a
public work within 120 days of receipt of the last notice of support
or opposition relating to that project or type of work from any
interested party that was not unreasonably delayed, as determined by
the director.
(c) If an administrative appeal of the director's determination is
made, it shall be made within 30 days of the date of the
determination. The director shall issue a determination on the
administrative appeal within 120 days after receipt of the last
notice of support or opposition relating to that appeal from any
interested party that was not unreasonably delayed, as determined by
the director. The director may have up to an additional 60 days if he
or she certifies in writing to the party requesting the appeal the
reason for the extension.
(d) The director shall have quasi-legislative authority to
determine coverage of projects or types of work under the prevailing
wage laws of this chapter. A final determination on any
administrative appeal is subject to judicial review pursuant to
Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure. These determinations,
and any determinations relating to the general prevailing rate of per
diem wages and the general prevailing rate for holiday, shift rate,
and overtime work, shall be exempt from the Administrative Procedure
Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
If during any quarterly period the Director of Industrial
Relations shall determine that there has been a change in any
prevailing rate of per diem wages in any locality he shall make such
change available to the awarding body and his determination shall be
final. Such determination by the Director of Industrial Relations
shall not be effective as to any contract for which the notice to
bidders has been published.
The provisions of Section 11250 of the Government Code
shall not be applicable to Sections 1773, 1773.4, and 1773.6.
An increased employer payment contribution that results in
a lower taxable wage shall not be considered a violation of the
applicable prevailing wage determination so long as all of the
following conditions are met:
(a) The increased employer payment is made pursuant to criteria
set forth in a collective bargaining agreement.
(b) The increased employer payment and hourly straight time and
overtime wage combined are no less than the general prevailing rate
of per diem wages.
(c) The employer payment contribution is irrevocable unless made
in error.
(a) The Director of Industrial Relations shall use the
methodology set forth in subdivision (b) to determine the general
prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality in which the public
work is to be performed.
(b) The general prevailing rate of per diem wages includes all of
the following:
(1) The basic hourly wage rate being paid to a majority of workers
engaged in the particular craft, classification, or type of work
within the locality and in the nearest labor market area, if a
majority of the workers is paid at a single rate. If no single rate
is being paid to a majority of the workers, then the single rate
being paid to the greatest number of workers, or modal rate, is
prevailing. If a modal rate cannot be determined, then the director
shall establish an alternative rate, consistent with the methodology
for determining the modal rate, by considering the appropriate
collective bargaining agreements, federal rates, rates in the nearest
labor market area, or other data such as wage survey data.
(2) Other employer payments included in per diem wages pursuant to
Section 1773.1 and as included as part of the total hourly wage rate
from which the basic hourly wage rate was derived. In the event the
total hourly wage rate does not include any employer payments, the
director shall establish a prevailing employer payment rate by the
same procedure set forth in paragraph (1).
(3) The rate for holiday and overtime work shall be those rates
specified in the collective bargaining agreement when the basic
hourly rate is based on a collective bargaining agreement rate. In
the event the basic hourly rate is not based on a collective
bargaining agreement, the rate for holidays and overtime work, if
any, included with the prevailing basic hourly rate of pay shall be
prevailing.
(c) (1) If the director determines that the general prevailing
rate of per diem wages is the rate established by a collective
bargaining agreement, and that the collective bargaining agreement
contains definite and predetermined changes during its term that will
affect the rate adopted, the director shall incorporate those
changes into the determination. Predetermined changes that are
rescinded prior to their effective date shall not be enforced.
(2) When the director determines that there is a definite and
predetermined change in the general prevailing rate of per diem wages
as described in paragraph (1), but has not published, at the time of
the effective date of the predetermined change, the allocation of
the predetermined change as between the basic hourly wage and other
employer payments included in per diem wages pursuant to Section
1773.1, a contractor or subcontractor may allocate payments of not
less than the amount of the definite and predetermined change to
either the basic hourly wage or other employer payments included in
per diem wages for up to 60 days following the director's publication
of the specific allocation of the predetermined change.
(3) When the director determines that there is a definite and
predetermined change in the general prevailing rate of per diem wages
as described in paragraph (1), but the allocation of that
predetermined change as between the basic hourly wage and other
employer payments included in per diem wages pursuant to Section
1773.1 is subsequently altered by the parties to a collective
bargaining agreement described in paragraph (1), a contractor or
subcontractor may allocate payments of not less than the amount of
the definite and predetermined change in accordance with either the
originally published allocation or the allocation as altered in the
collective bargaining agreement.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except
as otherwise provided by this section, if the state or a political
subdivision thereof agrees by contract with a private entity that the
private entity's employees receive, in performing that contract, the
general prevailing rate of per diem wages and the general prevailing
rate for holiday and overtime work, the director shall, upon a
request by the state or the political subdivision, do both of the
following:
(1) Determine, as otherwise provided by law, the wage rates for
each craft, classification, or type of worker that are needed to
execute the contract.
(2) Provide these wage rates to the state or political subdivision
that requests them.
(b) This section does not apply to a contract for a public work,
as defined in this chapter.
(c) The director shall determine and provide the wage rates
described in this section in the order in which the requests for
these wage rates were received and regardless of the calendar year in
which they were received. If there are more than 20 pending requests
in a calendar year, the director shall respond only to the first 20
requests in the order in which they were received. If the director
determines that funding is available in any calendar year to
determine and provide these wage rates in response to more than 20
requests, the director shall respond to these requests in a manner
consistent with this subdivision.
The contractor to whom the contract is awarded, and any
subcontractor under him, shall pay not less than the specified
prevailing rates of wages to all workmen employed in the execution of
the contract.
(a) (1) The contractor and any subcontractor under the
contractor shall, as a penalty to the state or political subdivision
on whose behalf the contract is made or awarded, forfeit not more
than two hundred dollars ($200) for each calendar day, or portion
thereof, for each worker paid less than the prevailing wage rates as
determined by the director for the work or craft in which the worker
is employed for any public work done under the contract by the
contractor or, except as provided in subdivision (b), by any
subcontractor under the contractor.
(2) (A) The amount of the penalty shall be determined by the Labor
Commissioner based on consideration of both of the following:
(i) Whether the failure of the contractor or subcontractor to pay
the correct rate of per diem wages was a good faith mistake and, if
so, the error was promptly and voluntarily corrected when brought to
the attention of the contractor or subcontractor.
(ii) Whether the contractor or subcontractor has a prior record of
failing to meet its prevailing wage obligations.
(B) (i) The penalty may not be less than forty dollars ($40) for
each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker paid less than
the prevailing wage rate, unless the failure of the contractor or
subcontractor to pay the correct rate of per diem wages was a good
faith mistake and, if so, the error was promptly and voluntarily
corrected when brought to the attention of the contractor or
subcontractor.
(ii) The penalty may not be less than eighty dollars ($80) for
each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker paid less than
the prevailing wage rate, if the contractor or subcontractor has
been assessed penalties within the previous three years for failing
to meet its prevailing wage obligations on a separate contract,
unless those penalties were subsequently withdrawn or overturned.
(iii) The penalty may not be less than one hundred twenty dollars
($120) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker
paid less than the prevailing wage rate, if the Labor Commissioner
determines that the violation was willful, as defined in subdivision
(c) of Section 1777.1.
(C) If the amount due under this section is collected from the
contractor or subcontractor, any outstanding wage claim under Chapter
1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 against
that contractor or subcontractor shall be satisfied before applying
that amount to the penalty imposed on that contractor or
subcontractor pursuant to this section.
(D) The determination of the Labor Commissioner as to the amount
of the penalty shall be reviewable only for abuse of discretion.
(E) The difference between the prevailing wage rates and the
amount paid to each worker for each calendar day or portion thereof
for which each worker was paid less than the prevailing wage rate
shall be paid to each worker by the contractor or subcontractor, and
the body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in the
contract a stipulation that this section will be complied with.
(b) If a worker employed by a subcontractor on a public works
project is not paid the general prevailing rate of per diem wages by
the subcontractor, the prime contractor of the project is not liable
for any penalties under subdivision (a) unless the prime contractor
had knowledge of that failure of the subcontractor to pay the
specified prevailing rate of wages to those workers or unless the
prime contractor fails to comply with all of the following
requirements:
(1) The contract executed between the contractor and the
subcontractor for the performance of work on the public works project
shall include a copy of the provisions of this section and Sections
1771, 1776, 1777.5, 1813, and 1815.
(2) The contractor shall monitor the payment of the specified
general prevailing rate of per diem wages by the subcontractor to the
employees, by periodic review of the certified payroll records of
the subcontractor.
(3) Upon becoming aware of the failure of the subcontractor to pay
his or her workers the specified prevailing rate of wages, the
contractor shall diligently take corrective action to halt or rectify
the failure, including, but not limited to, retaining sufficient
funds due the subcontractor for work performed on the public works
project.
(4) Prior to making final payment to the subcontractor for work
performed on the public works project, the contractor shall obtain an
affidavit signed under penalty of perjury from the subcontractor
that the subcontractor has paid the specified general prevailing rate
of per diem wages to his or her employees on the public works
project and any amounts due pursuant to Section 1813.
(c) The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall notify the
contractor on a public works project within 15 days of the receipt by
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of a complaint of the
failure of a subcontractor on that public works project to pay
workers the general prevailing rate of per diem wages.
(a) Each contractor and subcontractor shall keep accurate
payroll records, showing the name, address, social security number,
work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day
and week, and the actual per diem wages paid to each journeyman,
apprentice, worker, or other employee employed by him or her in
connection with the public work. Each payroll record shall contain or
be verified by a written declaration that it is made under penalty
of perjury, stating both of the following:
(1) The information contained in the payroll record is true and
correct.
(2) The employer has complied with the requirements of Sections
1771, 1811, and 1815 for any work performed by his or her employees
on the public works project.
(b) The payroll records enumerated under subdivision (a) shall be
certified and shall be available for inspection at all reasonable
hours at the principal office of the contractor on the following
basis:
(1) A certified copy of an employee's payroll record shall be made
available for inspection or furnished to the employee or his or her
authorized representative on request.
(2) A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in
subdivision (a) shall be made available for inspection or furnished
upon request to a representative of the body awarding the contract
and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of
Industrial Relations.
(3) A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in
subdivision (a) shall be made available upon request by the public
for inspection or for copies thereof. However, a request by the
public shall be made through either the body awarding the contract or
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. If the requested
payroll records have not been provided pursuant to paragraph (2), the
requesting party shall, prior to being provided the records,
reimburse the costs of preparation by the contractor, subcontractors,
and the entity through which the request was made. The public may
not be given access to the records at the principal office of the
contractor.
(c) Unless required to be furnished directly to the Labor
Commissioner in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 1771.4, the certified payroll records shall be on forms
provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or shall
contain the same information as the forms provided by the division.
The payroll records may consist of printouts of payroll data that are
maintained as computer records, if the printouts contain the same
information as the forms provided by the division and the printouts
are verified in the manner specified in subdivision (a).
(d) A contractor or subcontractor shall file a certified copy of
the records enumerated in subdivision (a) with the entity that
requested the records within 10 days after receipt of a written
request.
(e) Except as provided in subdivision (f), any copy of records
made available for inspection as copies and furnished upon request to
the public or any public agency by the awarding body or the Division
of Labor Standards Enforcement shall be marked or obliterated to
prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social
security number. The name and address of the contractor awarded the
contract or the subcontractor performing the contract shall not be
marked or obliterated. Any copy of records made available for
inspection by, or furnished to, a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust
fund (29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c)(5)) that requests the records for the
purposes of allocating contributions to participants shall be marked
or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's full
social security number, but shall provide the last four digits of the
social security number. Any copy of records made available for
inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee
established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act
of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) shall be marked or obliterated only to
prevent disclosure of an individual's social security number.
(f) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, agencies that
are included in the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground
Economy established pursuant to Section 329 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code and other law enforcement agencies investigating
violations of law shall, upon request, be provided nonredacted copies
of certified payroll records. Any copies of records or certified
payroll made available for inspection and furnished upon request to
the public by an agency included in the Joint Enforcement Strike
Force on the Underground Economy or to a law enforcement agency
investigating a violation of law shall be marked or redacted to
prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social
security number.
(2) An employer shall not be liable for damages in a civil action
for any reasonable act or omission taken in good faith in compliance
with this subdivision.
(g) The contractor shall inform the body awarding the contract of
the location of the records enumerated under subdivision (a),
including the street address, city, and county, and shall, within
five working days, provide a notice of a change of location and
address.
(h) The contractor or subcontractor has 10 days in which to comply
subsequent to receipt of a written notice requesting the records
enumerated in subdivision (a). In the event that the contractor or
subcontractor fails to comply within the 10-day period, he or she
shall, as a penalty to the state or political subdivision on whose
behalf the contract is made or awarded, forfeit one hundred dollars
($100) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker,
until strict compliance is effectuated. Upon the request of the
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, these penalties shall be
withheld from progress payments then due. A contractor is not subject
to a penalty assessment pursuant to this section due to the failure
of a subcontractor to comply with this section.
(i) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.
(j) The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Information
Practices Act of 1977 (Title 1.8 (commencing with Section 1798) of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) governing the release of
these records, including the establishment of reasonable fees to be
charged for reproducing copies of records required by this section.
Any officer, agent, or representative of the State or of any
political subdivision who wilfully violates any provision of this
article, and any contractor, or subcontractor, or agent or
representative thereof, doing public work who neglects to comply with
any provision of section 1776 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) Whenever a contractor or subcontractor performing a
public works project pursuant to this chapter is found by the Labor
Commissioner to be in violation of this chapter with intent to
defraud, the contractor or subcontractor or a firm, corporation,
partnership, or association in which the contractor or subcontractor
has any interest is ineligible for a period of not less than one year
or more than three years to do either of the following:
(1) Bid on or be awarded a contract for a public works project.
(2) Perform work as a subcontractor on a public works project.
(b) Whenever a contractor or subcontractor performing a public
works project pursuant to this chapter is found by the Labor
Commissioner to have committed two or more separate willful
violations of this chapter within a three-year period, the contractor
or subcontractor or a firm, corporation, partnership, or association
in which the contractor or subcontractor has any interest is
ineligible for a period up to three years to do either of the
following:
(1) Bid on or be awarded a contract for a public works project.
(2) Perform work as a subcontractor on a public works project.
(c) Whenever a contractor or subcontractor performing a public
works project has failed to provide a timely response to a request by
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards, or the awarding body to produce certified
payroll records pursuant to Section 1776, the Labor Commissioner
shall notify the contractor or subcontractor that, in addition to any
other penalties provided by law, the contractor or subcontractor
will be subject to debarment under this section if the certified
payroll records are not produced within 30 days after receipt of the
written notice. If the commissioner finds that the contractor or
subcontractor has failed to comply with Section 1776 by that
deadline, unless the commissioner finds that the failure to comply
was due to circumstances outside the contractor's or subcontractor's
control, the contractor or subcontractor or a firm, corporation,
partnership, or association in which the contractor or subcontractor
has any interest is ineligible for a period of not less than one year
and not more than three years to do either of the following:
(1) Bid on or be awarded a contract for a public works project.
(2) Perform work as a subcontractor on a public works project.
(d) (1) In the event a contractor or subcontractor is determined
by the Labor Commissioner to have knowingly committed a serious
violation of any provision of Section 1777.5, the Labor Commissioner
may also deny to the contractor or subcontractor, and to its
responsible officers, the right to bid on or to be awarded or perform
work as a subcontractor on any public works contract for a period of
up to one year for the first violation and for a period of up to
three years for a second or subsequent violation. Each period of
debarment shall run from the date the determination of noncompliance
by the Labor Commissioner becomes a final order.
(2) The Labor Commissioner shall consider, in determining whether
a violation is serious, and in determining whether and for how long a
party should be debarred for violating Section 1777.5, all of the
following circumstances:
(A) Whether the violation was intentional.
(B) Whether the party has committed other violations of Section
1777.5.
(C) Whether, upon notice of the violation, the party took steps to
voluntarily remedy the violation.
(D) Whether, and to what extent, the violation resulted in lost
training opportunities for apprentices.
(E) Whether, and to what extent, the violation otherwise harmed
apprentices or apprenticeship programs.
(e) A willful violation occurs when the contractor or
subcontractor knew or reasonably should have known of his or her
obligations under the public works law and deliberately fails or
deliberately refuses to comply with its provisions.
(f) The Labor Commissioner shall publish on the commissioner's
Internet Web site a list of contractors who are ineligible to bid on
or be awarded a public works contract, or to perform work as a
subcontractor on a public works project pursuant to this chapter. The
list shall contain the name of the contractor, the Contractors'
State License Board license number of the contractor, and the
effective period of debarment of the contractor. Contractors shall be
added to the list upon issuance of a debarment order and the
commissioner shall also notify the Contractors' State License Board
when the list is updated. At least annually, the commissioner shall
notify awarding bodies of the availability of the list of debarred
contractors. The commissioner shall also place advertisements in
construction industry publications targeted to the contractors and
subcontractors, chosen by the commissioner, that state the effective
period of the debarment and the reason for debarment. The
advertisements shall appear one time for each debarment of a
contractor in each publication chosen by the commissioner. The
debarred contractor or subcontractor shall be liable to the
commissioner for the reasonable cost of the advertisements, not to
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). The amount paid to the
commissioner for the advertisements shall be credited against the
contractor's or subcontractor's obligation to pay civil fines or
penalties for the same willful violation of this chapter.
(g) For purposes of this section, "contractor or subcontractor"
means a firm, corporation, partnership, or association and its
responsible managing officer, as well as any supervisors, managers,
and officers found by the Labor Commissioner to be personally and
substantially responsible for the willful violation of this chapter.
(h) For the purposes of this section, the term "any interest"
means an interest in the entity bidding or performing work on the
public works project, whether as an owner, partner, officer, manager,
employee, agent, consultant, or representative. "Any interest"
includes, but is not limited to, all instances where the debarred
contractor or subcontractor receives payments, whether cash or any
other form of compensation, from any entity bidding or performing
work on the public works project, or enters into any contracts or
agreements with the entity bidding or performing work on the public
works project for services performed or to be performed for contracts
that have been or will be assigned or sublet, or for vehicles,
tools, equipment, or supplies that have been or will be sold, rented,
or leased during the period from the initiation of the debarment
proceedings until the end of the term of the debarment period. "Any
interest" does not include shares held in a publicly traded
corporation if the shares were not received as compensation after the
initiation of debarment from an entity bidding or performing work on
a public works project.
(i) For the purposes of this section, the term "entity" is defined
as a company, limited liability company, association, partnership,
sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership, corporation,
business trust, or organization.
(j) The Labor Commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations for
the administration and enforcement of this section.
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the employment of
properly registered apprentices upon public works.
(b) Every apprentice employed upon public works shall be paid the
prevailing rate of per diem wages for apprentices in the trade to
which he or she is registered and shall be employed only at the work
of the craft or trade to which he or she is registered.
(c) Only apprentices, as defined in Section 3077, who are in
training under apprenticeship standards that have been approved by
the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and who are
parties to written apprentice agreements under Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 3070) of Division 3 are eligible to be employed at the
apprentice wage rate on public works. The employment and training of
each apprentice shall be in accordance with either of the following:
(1) The apprenticeship standards and apprentice agreements under
which he or she is training.
(2) The rules and regulations of the California Apprenticeship
Council.
(d) When the contractor to whom the contract is awarded by the
state or any political subdivision, in performing any of the work
under the contract, employs workers in any apprenticeable craft or
trade, the contractor shall employ apprentices in at least the ratio
set forth in this section and may apply to any apprenticeship program
in the craft or trade that can provide apprentices to the site of
the public work for a certificate approving the contractor under the
apprenticeship standards for the employment and training of
apprentices in the area or industry affected. However, the decision
of the apprenticeship program to approve or deny a certificate shall
be subject to review by the Administrator of Apprenticeship. The
apprenticeship program or programs, upon approving the contractor,
shall arrange for the dispatch of apprentices to the contractor. A
contractor covered by an apprenticeship program's standards shall not
be required to submit any additional application in order to include
additional public works contracts under that program.
"Apprenticeable craft or trade," as used in this section, means a
craft or trade determined as an apprenticeable occupation in
accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the California
Apprenticeship Council. As used in this section, "contractor"
includes any subcontractor under a contractor who performs any public
works not excluded by subdivision (o).
(e) Prior to commencing work on a contract for public works, every
contractor shall submit contract award information to an applicable
apprenticeship program that can supply apprentices to the site of the
public work. The information submitted shall include an estimate of
journeyman hours to be performed under the contract, the number of
apprentices proposed to be employed, and the approximate dates the
apprentices would be employed. A copy of this information shall also
be submitted to the awarding body if requested by the awarding body.
Within 60 days after concluding work on the contract, each contractor
and subcontractor shall submit to the awarding body, if requested,
and to the apprenticeship program a verified statement of the
journeyman and apprentice hours performed on the contract. The
information under this subdivision shall be public. The
apprenticeship programs shall retain this information for 12 months.
(f) The apprenticeship program that can supply apprentices to the
area of the site of the public work shall ensure equal employment and
affirmative action in apprenticeship for women and minorities.
(g) The ratio of work performed by apprentices to journeymen
employed in a particular craft or trade on the public work may be no
higher than the ratio stipulated in the apprenticeship standards
under which the apprenticeship program operates where the contractor
agrees to be bound by those standards, but, except as otherwise
provided in this section, in no case shall the ratio be less than one
hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work.
(h) This ratio of apprentice work to journeyman work shall apply
during any day or portion of a day when any journeyman is employed at
the jobsite and shall be computed on the basis of the hours worked
during the day by journeymen so employed. Any work performed by a
journeyman in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week
shall not be used to calculate the ratio. The contractor shall employ
apprentices for the number of hours computed as above before the end
of the contract or, in the case of a subcontractor, before the end
of the subcontract. However, the contractor shall endeavor, to the
greatest extent possible, to employ apprentices during the same time
period that the journeymen in the same craft or trade are employed at
the jobsite. Where an hourly apprenticeship ratio is not feasible
for a particular craft or trade, the Administrator of Apprenticeship,
upon application of an apprenticeship program, may order a minimum
ratio of not less than one apprentice for each five journeymen in a
craft or trade classification.
(i) A contractor covered by this section who has agreed to be
covered by an apprenticeship program's standards upon the issuance of
the approval certificate, or who has been previously approved for an
apprenticeship program in the craft or trade, shall employ the
number of apprentices or the ratio of apprentices to journeymen
stipulated in the applicable apprenticeship standards, but in no
event less than the 1 to 5 ratio required by subdivision (g).
(j) Upon proper showing by a contractor that he or she employs
apprentices in a particular craft or trade in the state on all of his
or her contracts on an annual average of not less than one hour of
apprentice work for every five hours of labor performed by
journeymen, the Administrator of Apprenticeship may grant a
certificate exempting the contractor from the 1 to 5 hourly ratio, as
set forth in this section for that craft or trade.
(k) An apprenticeship program has the discretion to grant to a
participating contractor or contractor association a certificate,
which shall be subject to the approval of the Administrator of
Apprenticeship, exempting the contractor from the 1 to 5 ratio set
forth in this section when it finds that any one of the following
conditions is met:
(1) Unemployment for the previous three-month period in the area
exceeds an average of 15 percent.
(2) The number of apprentices in training in the area exceeds a
ratio of 1 to 5.
(3) There is a showing that the apprenticeable craft or trade is
replacing at least one-thirtieth of its journeymen annually through
apprenticeship training, either on a statewide basis or on a local
basis.
(4) Assignment of an apprentice to any work performed under a
public works contract would create a condition that would jeopardize
his or her life or the life, safety, or property of fellow employees
or the public at large, or the specific task to which the apprentice
is to be assigned is of a nature that training cannot be provided by
a journeyman.
(l) When an exemption is granted pursuant to subdivision (k) to an
organization that represents contractors in a specific trade from
the 1 to 5 ratio on a local or statewide basis, the member
contractors shall not be required to submit individual applications
for approval to local joint apprenticeship committees, if they are
already covered by the local apprenticeship standards.
(m) (1) A contractor to whom a contract is awarded, who, in
performing any of the work under the contract, employs journeymen or
apprentices in any apprenticeable craft or trade shall contribute to
the California Apprenticeship Council the same amount that the
director determines is the prevailing amount of apprenticeship
training contributions in the area of the public works site. A
contractor may take as a credit for payments to the council any
amounts paid by the contractor to an approved apprenticeship program
that can supply apprentices to the site of the public works project.
The contractor may add the amount of the contributions in computing
his or her bid for the contract.
(2) At the conclusion of the 2002-03 fiscal year and each fiscal
year thereafter, the California Apprenticeship Council shall
distribute training contributions received by the council under this
subdivision, less the expenses of the Department of Industrial
Relations for administering this subdivision, by making grants to
approved apprenticeship programs for the purpose of training
apprentices. The funds shall be distributed as follows:
(A) If there is an approved multiemployer apprenticeship program
serving the same craft or trade and geographic area for which the
training contributions were made to the council, a grant to that
program shall be made.
(B) If there are two or more approved multiemployer apprenticeship
programs serving the same craft or trade and county for which the
training contributions were made to the council, the grant shall be
divided among those programs based on the number of apprentices from
that county registered in each program.
(C) All training contributions not distributed under subparagraphs
(A) and (B) shall be used to defray the future expenses of the
Department of Industrial Relations for the administration and
enforcement of apprenticeship standards and requirements under this
code.
(3) All training contributions received pursuant to this
subdivision shall be deposited in the Apprenticeship Training
Contribution Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury.
Upon appropriation by the Legislature, all moneys in the
Apprenticeship Training Contribution Fund shall be used for the
purpose of carrying out this subdivision and to pay the expenses of
the Department of Industrial Relations.
(n) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section. The
stipulations shall fix the responsibility of compliance with this
section for all apprenticeable occupations with the prime contractor.
(o) This section does not apply to contracts of general
contractors or to contracts of specialty contractors not bidding for
work through a general or prime contractor when the contracts of
general contractors or those specialty contractors involve less than
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
(p) An awarding body that implements an approved labor compliance
program in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 1771.5 may,
with the approval of the director, assist in the enforcement of this
section under the terms and conditions prescribed by the director.
An employer or a labor union shall not refuse to accept
otherwise qualified employees as registered apprentices on any public
works on any basis listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940 of the
Government Code, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926 and
12926.1 of the Government Code, except as provided in Section 3077 of
this code and Section 12940 of the Government Code.
(a) (1) If the Labor Commissioner or his or her designee
determines after an investigation that a contractor or subcontractor
knowingly violated Section 1777.5, the contractor and any
subcontractor responsible for the violation shall forfeit, as a civil
penalty to the state or political subdivision on whose behalf the
contract is made or awarded, not more than one hundred dollars ($100)
for each full calendar day of noncompliance. The amount of this
penalty may be reduced by the Labor Commissioner if the amount of the
penalty would be disproportionate to the severity of the violation.
A contractor or subcontractor that knowingly commits a second or
subsequent violation within a three-year period, if the noncompliance
results in apprenticeship training not being provided as required by
this chapter, shall forfeit as a civil penalty the sum of not more
than three hundred dollars ($300) for each full calendar day of
noncompliance.
(2) In lieu of the penalty provided for in this subdivision, the
Labor Commissioner may, for a first-time violation and with the
concurrence of an apprenticeship program described in subdivision (d)
of Section 1777.5, order the contractor or subcontractor to provide
apprentice employment equivalent to the work hours that would have
been provided for apprentices during the period of noncompliance.
(b) The Labor Commissioner shall consider, in setting the amount
of a monetary penalty, all of the following circumstances:
(1) Whether the violation was intentional.
(2) Whether the party has committed other violations of Section
1777.5.
(3) Whether, upon notice of the violation, the party took steps to
voluntarily remedy the violation.
(4) Whether, and to what extent, the violation resulted in lost
training opportunities for apprentices.
(5) Whether, and to what extent, the violation otherwise harmed
apprentices or apprenticeship programs.
(c) (1) The Labor Commissioner or his or her designee shall issue
a civil wage and penalty assessment, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 1741, upon determination of penalties assessed
under subdivisions (a) and (b). Review of a civil wage and penalty
assessment issued under this subdivision may be requested in
accordance with the provisions of Section 1742. The regulations of
the Director of Industrial Relations, which govern proceedings for
review of civil wage and penalty assessments and the withholding of
contract payments under Article 1 (commencing with Section 1720) and
Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770), shall apply.
(2) For purposes of this section, a determination issued pursuant
to subdivision (a) or (b) includes a determination that has been
approved by the Labor Commissioner and issued by an awarding body
that has been authorized to assist the director in the enforcement of
Section 1777.5 pursuant to subdivision (p) of that section. The
Labor Commissioner may intervene in any proceeding for review of a
determination issued by an awarding body. If the involvement of the
Labor Commissioner in a labor compliance program enforcement action
is limited to a review of the determination and the matter is
resolved without litigation by or against the Labor Commissioner or
the department, the awarding body shall enforce any applicable
penalties, as specified in this section, and shall deposit any
penalties and forfeitures collected in the General Fund.
(d) The determination of the Labor Commissioner as to the amount
of the penalty imposed under subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be
reviewable only for an abuse of discretion.
(e) If a subcontractor is found to have violated Section 1777.5,
the prime contractor of the project is not liable for any penalties
under subdivision (a) unless the prime contractor had knowledge of
the subcontractor's failure to comply with the provisions of Section
1777.5 or unless the prime contractor fails to comply with any of the
following requirements:
(1) The contract executed between the contractor and the
subcontractor for the performance of work on the public works project
shall include a copy of the provisions of Sections 1771, 1775, 1776,
1777.5, 1813, and 1815.
(2) The contractor shall continually monitor a subcontractor's use
of apprentices required to be employed on the public works project
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 1777.5, including, but not
limited to, periodic review of the certified payroll of the
subcontractor.
(3) Upon becoming aware of a failure of the subcontractor to
employ the required number of apprentices, the contractor shall take
corrective action, including, but not limited to, retaining funds due
to the subcontractor for work performed on the public works project
until the failure is corrected.
(4) Prior to making the final payment to the subcontractor for
work performed on the public works project, the contractor shall
obtain a declaration signed under penalty of perjury from the
subcontractor that the subcontractor has employed the required number
of apprentices on the public works project.
(f) The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall notify the
contractor on a public works project within 15 days of the receipt by
the division of a complaint that a subcontractor on that public
works project knowingly violated Section 1777.5.
(g) The interpretation of Section 1777.5 and the substantive
requirements of this section applicable to contractors or
subcontractors shall be in accordance with the regulations of the
California Apprenticeship Council.
(h) The Director of Industrial Relations may adopt regulations to
establish guidelines for the imposition of monetary penalties.
Every person, who individually or as a representative of an
awarding or public body or officer, or as a contractor or
subcontractor doing public work, or agent or officer thereof, who
takes, receives, or conspires with another to take or receive, for
his own use or the use of any other person any portion of the wages
of any workman or working subcontractor, in connection with services
rendered upon any public work is guilty of a felony.
Any person or agent or officer thereof who charges, collects,
or attempts to charge or collect, directly or indirectly, a fee or
valuable consideration for registering any person for public work, or
for giving information as to where such employment may be procured,
or for placing, assisting in placing, or attempting to place, any
person in public work, whether the person is to work directly for the
State, or any political subdivision or for a contractor or
subcontractor doing public work is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any person acting on behalf of the State or any political
subdivision, or any contractor or subcontractor or agent or
representative thereof, doing any public work who places any order
for the employment of a workman on public work where the filling of
the order for employment involves the charging of a fee, or the
receiving of a valuable consideration from any applicant for
employment is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
contractor may, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), bring an action in
a court of competent jurisdiction to recover from the body awarding
a contract for a public work or otherwise undertaking any public work
any increased costs incurred by the contractor as a result of any
decision by the body, the Department of Industrial Relations, or a
court that classifies, after the time at which the body accepts the
contractor's bid or awards the contractor a contract in circumstances
where no bid is solicited, the work covered by the bid or contract
as a "public work," as defined in this chapter, to which Section 1771
applies, if that body, before the bid opening or awarding of the
contract, failed to identify as a "public work," as defined in this
chapter, in the bid specification or in the contract documents that
portion of the work that the decision classifies as a "public work."
(2) The body awarding a contract for a public work or otherwise
undertaking any public work is not liable for increased costs in an
action described in paragraph (1) if all of the following conditions
are met:
(A) The contractor did not directly submit a bid to, or directly
contract with, that body.
(B) The body stated in the contract, agreement, ordinance, or
other written arrangement by which it undertook the public work that
the work described in paragraph (1) was a "public work," as defined
in this chapter, to which Section 1771 applies, and obligated the
party with whom the body makes its written arrangement to cause the
work described in paragraph (1) to be performed as a "public work."
(C) The body fulfilled all of its duties, if any, under the Civil
Code or any other provision of law pertaining to the body providing
and maintaining bonds to secure the payment of contractors, including
the payment of wages to workers performing the work described in
paragraph (1).
(3) If a contractor did not directly submit a bid to, or directly
contract with a body awarding a contract for, or otherwise
undertaking a public work, the liability of that body in an action
commenced by the contractor under subdivision (a) is limited to that
portion of a judgment, obtained by that contractor against the body
that solicited the contractor's bid or awarded the contract to the
contractor, that the contractor is unable to satisfy. For purposes of
this paragraph, a contractor may not be deemed to be unable to
satisfy any portion of a judgment unless, in addition to other
collection measures, the contractor has made a good faith attempt to
collect that portion of the judgment against a surety bond,
guarantee, or some other form of assurance.
(b) When construction has not commenced at the time a final
decision by the Department of Industrial Relations or a court
classifies all or part of the work covered by the bid or contract as
a "public work," as defined in this chapter, the body that solicited
the bid or awarded the contract shall rebid the "public work" covered
by the contract as a "public work," any bid that was submitted and
any contract that was executed for this work are null and void, and
the contractor may not be compensated for any nonconstruction work
already performed unless the body soliciting the bid or awarding the
contract has agreed to compensate the contractor for this work.
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Awarding body" does not include the Department of General
Services, the Department of Transportation, or the Department of
Water Resources.
(2) "Increased costs" includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Labor cost increases required to be paid to workers who
perform or performed work on the "public work" as a result of the
events described in subdivision (a).
(B) Penalties for a violation of this article for which the
contractor is liable, and which violation is the result of the events
described in subdivision (a).
(a) A charter city shall not receive or use state funding or
financial assistance for a construction project if the city has a
charter provision or ordinance that authorizes a contractor to not
comply with the provisions of this article on any public works
contract.
(b) A charter city shall not receive or use state funding or
financial assistance for a construction project if the city has
awarded, within the prior two years, a public works contract without
requiring the contractor to comply with all of the provisions of this
article. This subdivision shall not apply if the charter city's
failure to include the prevailing wage or apprenticeship requirement
in a particular contract was inadvertent and contrary to a city
charter provision or ordinance that otherwise requires compliance
with this article.
(c) A charter city is not disqualified by subdivision (a) from
receiving or using state funding or financial assistance for its
construction projects if the charter city has a local prevailing wage
ordinance for all its public works contracts that includes
requirements that in all respects are equal to or greater than the
requirements imposed by the provisions of this article and that do
not authorize a contractor to not comply with this article.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:
(1) A public works contract does not include contracts for
projects of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less when the
project is for construction work, or projects of fifteen thousand
dollars ($15,000) or less when the project is for alteration,
demolition, repair, or maintenance work.
(2) A charter city includes any agency of a charter city and any
entity controlled by a charter city whose contracts would be subject
to this article.
(3) A "construction project" means a project that involves the
award of a public works contract.
(4) State funding or financial assistance includes direct state
funding, state loans and loan guarantees, state tax credits, and any
other type of state financial support for a construction project.
State funding or financial assistance does not include revenues that
charter cities are entitled to receive without conditions under the
California Constitution.
(e) The Director of Industrial Relations shall maintain a list of
charter cities that may receive and use state funding or financial
assistance for their construction projects.
(f) (1) This section does not restrict a charter city from
receiving or using state funding or financial assistance that was
awarded to the city prior to January 1, 2015, or from receiving or
using state funding or financial assistance to complete a contract
that was awarded prior to January 1, 2015.
(2) A charter city is not disqualified by subdivision (b) from
receiving or using state funding or financial assistance for its
construction projects based on the city's failure to require a
contractor to comply with this article in performing a contract the
city advertised for bid or awarded prior to January 1, 2015.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a contractor may bring an
action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover from the
hiring party that the contractor directly contracts with, any
increased costs attributable solely to the provisions of this
chapter, including, but not limited to, the difference between the
wages actually paid to an employee and the wages that were required
to be paid to an employee under this chapter, any penalties or other
sums required to be paid under this chapter, and costs and attorney's
fees for the action incurred by the contractor as a result of any
decision by the Department of Industrial Relations, the Labor and
Workforce Development Agency, or a court that classifies, after the
time at which the hiring party accepts the contractor's bid, awards
the contractor a contract under circumstances when no bid is
solicited, or otherwise allows construction by the contractor to
proceed, the work covered by the project, or any portion thereof, as
a "public work," as defined in this chapter, except to the extent
that either of the following is true:
(1) The owner or developer or its agent expressly advised the
contractor that the work to be covered by the contract would be a
"public work," as defined in this chapter, or is otherwise subject to
the payment of prevailing wages.
(2) The hiring party expressly advised the contractor that the
work subject to the contract would be a "public work," as defined in
this chapter, or is otherwise subject to the payment of prevailing
wages.
(b) (1) To be entitled to the recovery of increased costs
described in subdivision (a), the contractor shall notify the hiring
party and the owner or developer within 30 days after receipt of the
notice of a decision by the Department of Industrial Relations or the
Labor and Workforce Development Agency, or the initiation of any
action in a court alleging, that the work covered by the project, or
any portion thereof, is a "public work," as defined in this chapter.
(2) The notice provided pursuant to this subdivision shall set
forth the legal name, address, and telephone number of the
contractor, and the name, address, and telephone number of the
contractor's representative, if any, and shall be given by registered
or certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery by an express
service carrier.
(c) A contractor is not required to list any prevailing wages or
apprenticeship standard violations on a prequalification
questionnaire that are the direct result of the failure of the owner
or developer or its agent, or a hiring party, to notify the
contractor that the project, or any portion thereof, was a "public
work," as defined in this chapter.
(d) This section does not apply to private residential projects
built on private property unless the project is built pursuant to an
agreement with a state agency, redevelopment agency, or local public
housing authority.
(e) This section does not apply if the conduct of the contractor
caused the project to be a "public work," as defined in this chapter,
or if the contractor has actual knowledge that the work is a "public
work," as defined in this chapter.
(f) A contractor may seek recovery pursuant to this section only
from a hiring party with whom the contractor has a direct contract.
(g) For purposes of this section, "contractor" means a person or
entity licensed by the Contractors' State Licensing Board that has a
direct contract with the hiring party to provide services on private
property or for the benefit of a private owner or developer.
(h) For purposes of this section, "hiring party" means the party
that has a direct contract for services provided by the contractor
who is seeking recovery pursuant to subdivision (a) on a private
works project that was subsequently determined to be a public work by
the Department of Industrial Relations or the Labor and Workforce
Development Agency, or by the initiation of any action in a court
alleging that the work covered by the project, or any portion
thereof, was a public work.