Prevailing Wage and Public Works

February 2, 1015 by Beeson Tayer & Bodine

Prevailing Wage for Post-Construction – AB 26 (Bonilla)
This bill clarifies that work performed in the post-construction phase of a public works project, including all cleanup work, is part of the project and must be paid at the prevailing wage rate. This clarification is consistent with the Department of Industrial Relations most recent determinations and is important to ensure clarity in the law and consistency in its application.

Facilitates Payment of Prevailing Wage – SB 266 (Lieu)
SB 266 amends Section 1741.1 of the California Labor Code to facilitate the process of determining whether a project is a public works, and to make it easier for workers to obtain the wages they are owed under prevailing wage laws. Under the new law, the entity awarding a public works contract must give the Labor Commissioner, within 10 days of the Commissioner’s request, a notice of completion for the project or documents showing that the body has accepted the public work. If the information is not available, it is the responsibility of the awarding body to notify the Commissioner. The new Labor Code revisions are intended to facilitate enforcement of prevailing wage requirements and avoid wage theft that might otherwise go unaddressed due to delays.

Public Works Apprenticeship Programs – AB 2744 (Labor and Employment Committee)
This bill cleans up existing law to ensure that the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement has the same enforcement mechanisms available to enforce apprenticeship requirements on public works projects as are available for violations of public works projects for non-apprentices. These enforcement mechanisms include penalties and restricting violators from bidding for or being awarded public works projects between one to three years.

Public Contracts: Background Checks – AB 1650 (Jones-Sawyer)
This bill enacts the Fair Chance Employment Act, requiring any person submitting a bid for a state contract involving onsite construction-related services to certify that the person will not ask an applicant for onsite construction-related employment to disclose information concerning his or her conviction history on or at the time of an initial employment application. The law does not apply when state or federal law requires contractors conduct a criminal history background check. The bill would not apply to a position for which a person or state agency is otherwise required by state or federal law to conduct a conviction or criminal history background check or when hiring workers from a hiring hall pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.

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