BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1926
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
AB 1926
(Cooper) - As Amended March 30, 2016
SUBJECT: Public works: prevailing wage: apprentices
SUMMARY: Provides that certain time spent by apprentices on
public works projects shall be paid at prevailing wage rates.
Specifically, this bill: Specifies that, unless otherwise
provided by a collective bargaining agreement, when a contractor
requests the dispatch of an apprentice to perform work on a
public works project and requires the apprentice to fill out an
application, or undergo testing, training, an examination, or
other pre-employment process as a condition of employment, the
apprentice shall be paid for time spent on the required
activity, including travel time, at the prevailing wage rate for
apprentices in the trade to which he or she is registered.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires that, except as specified, not less than the general
prevailing rate of per diem wages be paid to workers employed
on public works projects.
2)Provides that an apprentice employed upon public works is
required to be paid the prevailing rate of per diem wages for
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apprentices in the trade to which he or she is registered and
to be employed only at the work of the craft or trade to which
he or she is registered, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This bill provides that certain time spent by
apprentices on public works projects shall be paid at prevailing
wage rates. According to the author, this bill will help
apprentices continue with their apprenticeship training program
by ensuring they receive fair compensation when dispatched to a
construction site ready and prepared to work, complete certain
pre-employment requirements at the request of the contractor,
but are not hired by the contractor for that project.
"Hours Worked" Under Existing Law
According to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement's
(DLSE's) Enforcement Policies and Interpretation Manual, "Under
the basic definition set out in all of the IWC Orders, 'Hours
Worked' means the time during which an employee is subject to
the control of any employer, and includes all of the time the
employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not
required to do so?Where it is determined that the employee's
time is subject to the control of the employer?the time
constitutes 'hours worked'." (DLSE Manual Section 46.1). See
also, Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., 22 Cal. 4th 575 (2000).
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Travel Time Under Existing Law
With respect to travel time, the DLSE Manual states:
"If an employee is required to report to the employer's
business premises before proceeding to an off-premises work
site, all of the time from the moment of reporting until the
employee is released to proceed directly to his or her home is
time subject to the control of the employer, and constitutes
hours worked." (DLSE Manual Section 46.2).
However, an employer may establish different pay rates for
travel time. As the DLSE Manual provides:
"The employer may establish a different pay scale for travel
time (not less than minimum wage) as opposed to the regular
work time rate. The employee must be informed of the different
pay rate for travel before the travel beings." (DLSE Manual
Section 46.3.2).
Training Time Under Existing Law
According to the DLSE Manual:
"The Division utilizes the standards announced by the U.S.
Department of Labor contained at 29 CFR §§ 785.27 through
785.31 in regard to lectures, meetings and training programs:
Time spent by employees attending training programs, lectures
and meetings are not counted as hours worked if the attendance
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is voluntary on the part of the employee and all the following
criteria are met:
1. Attendance is outside regular working hours;
2. Attendance is voluntary: attendance is not voluntary if the
employee is led to believe that present working conditions or
the continuation of employment would be adversely affected by
nonattendance;
3. The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to
the employee's job: training is directly related to an
employee's job if it is designed to make the employee handle
his job more effectively as distinguished from training him
for another job or to a new or additional skill; and
4. The employee does not perform any productive work during
such attendance
All training programs, lectures, meetings, etcetera which do
not meet the above criteria are hours worked. If any one of
the above listed criterion is not met, the time is to be
considered 'hours worked'." (DLSE Manual Section 46.6.5).
Arguments in Support
According to the author and sponsors, public works projects
throughout California are required to use apprentices in order
to promote a new generation of skilled and trained workers that
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are readily available to accomplish the infrastructure needs of
our state. Public works contractors are specifically required
to utilize one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of
work performed by a journeyperson.
To meet these requirements, contractors request apprentices from
a state approved apprenticeship program in their geographic
region. The contractor simply calls the approved apprenticeship
program or committee, relays his or her request for apprentices,
and the program dispatches the apprentices to the contractor.
Contractors benefit from hiring apprentices by: paying a lower
rate than the journeyperson rate, not having to run their own
training programs to find skilled workers, and increased
productivity as apprentices are motivated to advance and
achieve. This process provides an assurance that new
apprentices entering a specific craft will be guaranteed high
quality training leading to skilled craftsmen/women or
journeyperson status.
The sponsors argue that an apprentice is completely responsible
to arrive on time and ready for work. Apprentices and
construction workers are always required to travel to where the
work is. However, when an apprentice is dispatched, but not put
to work they lose out on an entire day's wages and miss the
opportunity to learn new skills to advance in their training.
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Therefore, this bill provides apprentices dispatched to
contractors with their properly owed prevailing wage rate in the
event a contractor does not use the apprentice for construction
work, but requires the apprentice to undergo testing, added
safety training, or any other pre-employment requirements. The
apprentice would receive payment only for the time spent on the
required activity.
There is no known opposition on file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers
State Building and Construction Trades Council (sponsor)
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091