BILL NUMBER: SB 588 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 804
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 13, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 12, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Burton
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to amend Section 1776 of, and to add Section 1771.2 to, the
Labor Code, relating to public works.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 588, Burton. Prevailing wages: payroll records.
Existing law generally requires contractors engaged in public
works to pay employees the prevailing wage, as determined by the
Director of Industrial Relations, and to comply with requirements
relating to recordkeeping and employee work schedules.
This bill would authorize a joint labor-management committee
established pursuant to a specified provision of federal law to bring
an action against any employer who fails to pay prevailing wages as
required by state law.
Existing law requires each contractor and subcontractor on a
public works project to keep accurate payroll records containing
information about employees, including name, address, social security
number, and work history. Existing law requires, if these records
are provided to the public or any public agency, that the names,
addresses, and social security numbers of the employees be
obliterated.
This bill would prohibit the obliteration of any information on
employee payroll records except the employee's name and social
security number, for any records supplied to a joint labor-management
committee established pursuant to federal law.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1771.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
1771.2. 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) 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 180 days 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 180 days after acceptance of the
public work, whichever last occurs.
SEC. 2. Section 1776 of the Labor Code, as added by Section 4 of
Chapter 757 of the Statutes of 1997, 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.
(j) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 1776 of the Labor Code, as amended by Section 3 of
Chapter 757 of the Statutes of 1997, is amended to read:
1776. (a) Each contractor and subcontractor shall keep an
accurate payroll record, showing the name, address, social security
number, work classification, and 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.
(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) Each contractor 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 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 social
security number.
(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 shall have 10 days in which to comply
subsequent to receipt of written notice specifying in what respects
the contractor must comply with this section. In the event that the
contractor 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.
(h) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section. These
stipulations shall fix the responsibility for compliance with this
section on the prime contractor.
(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.
(j) This section shall become operative January 1, 2003.