California Extends Public Works Exemption for Volunteers

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Wage and Hour Practice Group

By Milton Castro

California Governor Edmund G. Brown recently signed Assembly Bill No. 587 (AB 587) into effect, one of two recent amendments to the California Labor Code. Before AB 587, volunteer workers were exempted from the Code’s requirement that all workers employed on public works projects be paid not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, but only until January 1, 2012. AB 587 extends the exemption by five years, to January 1, 2017.

When the exemption was first introduced in 2004, proponents argued that a public works exemption for volunteers was needed due to the “importance of volunteers in building community support for local projects,” many of which included environmental projects such as restoration of streams and wetlands. AB 587’s proponents claim that the exemption has since proven successful and thus its extension is necessary to allow volunteers, many of whom are students, to continue participating in preservation activities on public lands.

Photo credit: Mangostock

Tags: , , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

California Labor Commissioner Debars Contractors for Prevailing Wage Violations

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Wage and Hour Practice Group

In its ongoing enforcement efforts of California's public works laws, the State Labor Commissioner's Office issued a press release on March 10, 2010, announcing that two Southern California contractors would be prohibited from bidding on or receiving any public works projects for three years beginning April 19, 2010. California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet explained that the Orders of Debarment were necessary due to the contractors’ “deliberate and willful attempts to skirt the law,” which “will not be tolerated as they take unfair advantage of employees as well as tax payers who fund these public works projects.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Department of Industrial Relations’ (DIR) Division of Labor Standards Enforcement investigation revealed that one contractor asked its employees to tell investigators they were paid $51 per hour when in fact they were only paid $16.25 per hour. The DIR also discovered that the contractors failed to pay proper prevailing wage rates, failed to pay overtime, falsely certified payroll records, and falsely reported work hours of employees.

This latest action demonstrates the State Labor Commissioner’s commitment to enforcing California’s prevailing wage laws. In November 2009, for example, the DIR announced the creation of a new Compliance Monitoring Unit that was created following changes in California’s labor compliance monitoring primarily for projects funded by state-issued public works construction bonds. In addition, earlier last year, the DIR secured nearly $750,000 in wages and penalties as part of a settlement of two substantial prevailing wage enforcement actions and debarred nine contractors from public works projects for similar violations of California prevailing wage laws. These settlements and debarments are intended to send a strong message to contractors and their workers that prevailing wage violations will not be tolerated. “The action that I am taking will help to create a level playing field for legitimate employers operating in this tough economic time,” added Commissioner Bradstreet.

This entry was written by Michele Z. Stevenson.
 
Tags: , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

State Building and Construction Trade Councils of California, AFL CIO v. City of Vista Court of Appeal Decision

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Wage and Hour Practice Group

This most recent on the city charter exemption in State Building and Construction Trade Council of California, AFL-CIO v. City of Vista (4/28/09) D052181 (PDF), is a favorable one for city contractors who might do work for chartered cities. The court held that chartered cities are exempted from the requirements of the prevailing wage statute, Labor Code section 1720, et seq. under the municipal affairs clause of the California Constitution. The victory may be short-lived, given the number of amicus on this appellate decision, including California’s Attorney General, which filed a brief in support of the Building Trade Councils. The “municipal affairs exemption” is ripe for Supreme Court review. Those following prevailing wage cases will recall that many anticipated a decision from the California Supreme Court in City of Long Beach v. Department of Industrial Relations (2004) 34 Cal.4th 942 on the municipal affairs exemption but were disappointed when the California Supreme Court reached a decision on other grounds and failed to address the exemption.

Under the California Constitution, a chartered city is exempt from general state laws where its local laws conflict with the general state law over a purely municipal affair, unless the state law is a matter of statewide concern. California Federal Savings and Loan Association v. City of Los Angeles (1991) 54 Cal.3d 1. In City of Vista, the Court of Appeal reviewed the many exceptions and caveats to California’s prevailing wage law and ruled that California’s prevailing wage law does not address matters of “statewide concern.” The court held that the limitations and exceptions to the prevailing wage law “persuade us that municipal public works projects do not have such an extramural dimension as would warrant legislative intervention in an otherwise strictly municipal affair.” This decision was reached over the dissent of one justice. The dissent reached the conclusion that the prevailing wage law was of “statewide concern” and that chartered cities are not exempt from the prevailing wage law. It is likely that one of the losing parties will petition for review at the Supreme Court and it would not be surprising to see the California Supreme Court grant review and address the issue that it avoided in the City of Long Beach case.

This blog entry was authored by Stephen C. Tedesco.
Tags: , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link