BILL NUMBER: AB 1448 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 28
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 23, 2002
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR APRIL 22, 2002
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2002
PASSED THE SENATE APRIL 8, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 14, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 7, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Maddox
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to amend and repeal Sections 1776 and 1813 of the Labor
Code, relating to public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1448, Maddox. Prevailing wage laws: violations.
Existing law governing the obligations of contractors and
subcontractors involved in public works projects requires that
employees be paid the prevailing wage, as determined by the Director
of Industrial Relations, and requires that contractors and
subcontractors keep accurate payroll records, which may be made
available for public inspection, as provided. These provisions
contain certain requirements that, under existing law, will be
repealed on January 1, 2003. The provisions to be repealed include
(1) a requirement that contractors and subcontractors verify under
penalty of perjury the accuracy of their payroll records and their
compliance with certain provisions; (2) a requirement that a
subcontractor file certified copies of payroll records as requested
by specified entities; and (3) an exemption for contractors from
penalties for a subcontractor's failure to provide requested payroll
records that instead makes the subcontractor subject to the penalty.
Existing law provides that a contractor or subcontractor who
employs a worker in violation of limits on hours that may be worked
in a day or week is liable for a specified penalty. Under existing
law, this provision will be repealed on January 1, 2003, and replaced
by a provision under which a contractor is subject to a penalty for
his or her own violations of the limits on employee hours, as well as
being subject to a penalty for any violations by his or her
subcontractors.
This bill would delete the January 1, 2003, repeal of these wage
and hour provisions, thus keeping these provisions in effect
indefinitely. By extending the term of the provision requiring
verification of payroll records under penalty of perjury, the bill
would preserve the existence of an existing crime, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1776 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 2
of Chapter 804 of the Statutes of 2001, is amended to read:
1776. (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,
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards 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,
the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, 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 shall not be given access to
the records at the principal office of the contractor.
(c) 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.
(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) 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, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, 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 joint
labor-management committee established pursuant to the federal Labor
Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (Section 175a of Title 29 of the
United States Code) shall be marked or obliterated only to prevent
disclosure of an individual's name and social security number. A
joint labor management committee may maintain an action in a court of
competent jurisdiction against an employer who fails to comply with
Section 1774. The court may award restitution to an employee for
unpaid wages and may award the joint labor management committee
reasonable attorney's fee and costs incurred in maintaining the
action. An action under this subdivision may not be based on the
employer's misclassification of the craft of a worker on its
certified payroll records. Nothing in this subdivision limits any
other available remedies for a violation of this chapter.
(f) 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.
(g) The contractor or subcontractor shall have 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 twenty-five
dollars ($25) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each
worker, until strict compliance is effectuated. Upon the request of
the Division of Apprenticeship Standards or 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.
(h) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.
(i) The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California
Public Records Act, (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250),
Division 7, Title 1, Government Code) and the Information Practices
Act of 1977, (Title 1.8 (commencing with Section 1798), Part 4,
Division 3, 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.
SEC. 2. Section 1776 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 3 of
Chapter 804 of the Statutes of 2001, is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 1813 of the Labor Code, as added by Section 6 of
Chapter 757 of the Statutes of 1997, is amended to read:
1813. The contractor or subcontractor shall, as a penalty to the
state or political subdivision on whose behalf the contract is made
or awarded, forfeit twenty-five dollars ($25) for each worker
employed in the execution of the contract by the respective
contractor or subcontractor for each calendar day during which the
worker is required or permitted to work more than 8 hours in any one
calendar day and 40 hours in any one calendar week in violation of
the provisions of this article. In awarding any contract for public
work, the awarding body shall cause to be inserted in the contract a
stipulation to this effect. The awarding body shall take cognizance
of all violations of this article committed in the course of the
execution of the contract, and shall report them to the Division of
Labor Standards Enforcement.
SEC. 4. Section 1813 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 122
of Chapter 485 of the Statutes of 1998, is repealed.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.