BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2744
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2744 (Labor and Employment Committee)
As Amended June 18, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(May 8, 2014) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 7, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. & E.
SUMMARY : Makes necessary conforming changes to reflect a recent
merger of duties within the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement (DLSE), and more fully integrate enforcement of
apprenticeship standards within the enforcement mechanisms
already available to address other violations of the
requirements for contractors and subcontractors on public works
projects under existing law.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that in the event a contractor or subcontractor is
determined by the Labor Commissioner to have knowingly
committed a serious violation of any provision of existing law
related to apprentices, the Labor Commissioner may also deny
to the contractor or subcontractor, and to its responsible
officers, the right to bid on or to be awarded or perform work
as a subcontractor on any public works contract for a period
of up to one year for the first violation and for a period of
up to three years for a second or subsequent violation. Each
period of debarment shall run from the date the determination
of noncompliance by the Labor Commissioner becomes a final
order.
2)Require the Labor Commissioner to consider, in determining
whether a violation is serious, and in determining whether and
for how long a party should be debarred, all of the following
circumstances:
a) Whether the violation was intentional.
b) Whether the party has committed other violations of
existing law.
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c) Whether, upon notice of the violation, the party took
steps to voluntarily remedy the violation.
d) Whether, and to what extent, the violation resulted in
lost training opportunities for apprentices.
e) Whether, and to what extent, the violation otherwise
harmed apprentices or apprenticeship programs.
3)Delete specified provisions of the bill and merely provide
that the interpretation of existing law shall be in accordance
with the regulations of the California Apprenticeship Council.
4)Make other technical and conforming changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill made necessary conforming
changes to reflect a recent merger of duties within DLSE and
more fully integrate enforcement of apprenticeship standards
within the enforcement mechanisms already available to address
other violations of the requirements for contractors and
subcontractors on public works projects under existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Effective June 27, 2012, the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards Public Works Unit and the Electrician
Certification Unit were merged with the DLSE Public Works Unit.
This merger allows DLSE to enforce all aspects of public works
law effectively and comprehensively and makes DLSE responsible
for enforcing public works laws involving the payment of wages
for journey workers and apprentices and for apprenticeship ratio
complaints. However, some code sections were not properly
amended to reflect the changes made by this reorganization.
This bill would make the necessary clean-up changes to reflect
this merger of duties within DLSE and more fully integrate
enforcement of apprenticeship standards within the enforcement
mechanisms already available to address other violations of the
requirements for contractors and subcontractors on public works
projects under existing law.
The transfer of authority neglected to specify that the Labor
Commissioner would follow the same enforcement procedures
already required whenever determining "after an investigation
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that there has been a violation of" the Public Works Chapter
(Labor Code Section 1741), and whenever finding that "a
contractor or subcontractor performing a public works project
pursuant to this chapter" is subject to debarment (ineligibility
to bid on, be awarded, or perform work on a public works project
under Labor Code Section 1777.1). This bill would require the
Labor Commissioner to follow these same enforcement procedures
in addressing violations of the apprenticeship standards listed
in Labor Code Section 1777.5, just as is the case when
addressing any other violations of the prevailing wage laws. In
addition, the transfer of authority requires the Labor
Commissioner to determine that a contractor or subcontractor
"knowingly violated" the requirements of the apprenticeship
standards found in Labor Code Section 1777.5 in order to enforce
penalty assessments (Labor Code Section 1777.7(a)(1)).
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
FN: 0004318