BILL NUMBER: AB 2783 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 24, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 10, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Villaraigosa
FEBRUARY 25, 2000
An act to amend Section 1776 of the Labor Code, relating to public
works.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2783, Villaraigosa. Public works: prevailing wages.
Existing law requires, except for public works projects of $1,000
or less, all workers employed on a public works project to be paid
not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages.
Existing law requires each contractor and subcontractor on a public
works project to keep accurate payroll records and to make a
certified copy of these payroll records available for inspection or
to be furnished upon request to a representative of the public body
awarding the contract, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement,
and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards of the Department of
Industrial Relations. Under existing law, any copies of records made
available to these entities are required to be marked or obliterated
in a manner so as to prevent disclosure of an individual's name,
address, and social security number.
This bill would provide that a certified copy of payroll records
made available or furnished by an awarding body to a joint labor
management committee established under the federal Labor Management
Cooperation Act of 1978, shall only be marked or obliterated in a
manner to prevent the disclosure of an individual's social security
number.
This bill would authorize a joint labor management committee to
maintain an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against an
employer who fails to pay the prevailing rates of wages to its
workers, as provided.
The bill would make other technical changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. 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 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 in a manner so as 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.
(f) A certified copy of payroll records made available or
furnished by the awarding body to a joint labor management committee
established under Section (6)(a) of the Labor Management Cooperation
Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) pursuant to this section shall
only be marked or obliterated in a manner to prevent the disclosure
of an individual's social security number and shall include all other
employee information. 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 fees and costs
incurred in maintaining the action. An action under this subdivision
shall be commenced not later than one year after the filing of a
valid notice of completion or not later than one year after the
acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs first. A prime
contractor shall not be held liable in an action under this
subdivision for the failure to pay wages to an employee of its
subcontractor unless the prime contractor would be liable for a
penalty under the conditions specified in subdivision (b) of Section
1775. 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 shall limit
any other available remedies for a violation of this chapter.
(g) The contractor or subcontractor 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.
(h) 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.
(i) The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in
the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.
(j) The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California
Public Records Act (Ch. 3.5 (commencing with Sec. 6250), Div. 7,
Title 1, Gov. C.) and the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title
1.8 (commencing with Sec. 1798), Pt. 4, Div. 3, Civ. C.) governing
the release of these records, including the establishment of
reasonable fees to be charged for reproducing copies of records
required by this section.
(k) 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. 2. Section 1776 of the Labor Code, as amended by Chapter 485
of the Statutes of 1998, 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, 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 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 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 in a manner so as 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.
(f) A certified copy of payroll records made available or
furnished by the awarding body to a joint labor management committee
established under Section (6)(a) of the Labor Management Cooperation
Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) pursuant to this section shall
only be marked or obliterated in a manner to prevent the disclosure
of an individual's social security number and shall include all other
employee information. 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 fees and costs
incurred in maintaining the action. An action under this subdivision
shall be commenced not later than one year after the filing of a
valid notice of completion or not later than one year after the
acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs first. A prime
contractor shall not be held liable in an action under this
subdivision for the failure to pay wages to an employee of its
subcontractor unless the prime contractor would be liable for a
penalty under the conditions specified in subdivision (b) of Section
1775. 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 shall limit
any other available remedies for a violation of this chapter.
(g) The contractor or subcontractor 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.
(h) The contractor or subcontractor shall have 10 days in which to
comply subsequent to receipt of written notice specifying in what
respects the contractor or subcontractor must comply with this
section. 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.
(i) 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.
(j) The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California
Public Records Act (Ch. 3.5 (commencing with Sec. 6250), Div. 7,
Title 1, Gov. C.) and the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title
1.8 (commencing with Sec. 1798), Pt. 4, Div. 3, Civ. C.) governing
the release of these records, including the establishment of
reasonable fees to be charged for reproducing copies of records
required by this section.
(k) This section shall become operative January 1, 2003.