CALIFORNIA law has special wage requirements for labor performed on state public works by private or non-government workers. “Public works” to include any construction or repair work performed under contract and paid out of public funds. Public entities that award contracts to private contractors have specific responsibilities designed to help ensure that employees who work for these contractors are paid the prevailing wages on public works projects.
Three contractors were recently ordered by the Labor Department to pay a total of over $1.8 million in wages, penalties and training funds for prevailing wage violations against their employees.
The first employer was a tile contractor, B.A. Marble & Granite Inc., who installed tiles in the bathrooms of student residence halls in the UCLA campus. B.A. Marble was accused of falsifying documents, intimidating its employees to impede the agency’s investigation and refusing to provide information for the case – all in an attempt to avoid paying the prevailing wage and complying with other applicable public works and labor laws.
The tile contractor was ordered to pay $539,051 in wages to its 55 employees, $4,693 in apprenticeship training funds and $652,600 in penalties.
The second employer, a flooring contractor, Phoenix Floors, installed vinyl flooring during a renovation at a community college in Orange County. The contractor was found to have falsified payroll records, and set up a scheme with the result of ultimately paying its 30 employees far less than the prevailing wage for the project. The employer also failed to pay proper overtime and failed to make required contributions to a DIR-approved training program for the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC).
The employer was ordered to pay $275,518 in wages, $5,599 in apprenticeship training funds and $123,150 in penalties for its willful labor law violations.
The third employer, Production Plumbing, installed plumbing and piping at a charter school for LA Unified School District. The employer was found to have issued checks with nonsufficient funds, underreported hours, and misclassified nine workers in order to pay a lower prevailing wage rate. It was ordered to pay $183,807 in wages, $6,385 in apprenticeship training funds and $30,605 in penalties.
The information on prevailing wage rates must be obtained from the Department of Industrial Relations for each craft, classification, or type of worker needed to carry out the contract. The contract must also provide that the contractor will be liable for penalties and any shortfall in wages if it fails to pay the prevailing wages.
Among other things, California’s law for public works were intended to:
– Provide for the payment of no less than the prevailing rate of per diem wages to all employees on public works
– Limit the service of employees on public works to 8 hours per day or 40 hrs per week, unless additional time is compensated at the overtime rate
– Require every contractor or subcontractor to keep accurate payroll records concerning their employees and the wages paid on public works.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant results, including several million dollar recoveries for consumers against insurance companies and big business. He is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum—a prestigious group of trial lawyers whose membership is limited to those who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy. He has been featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements for his professional accomplishments and recipient of numerous awards from community and media organizations. His litigation practice concentrates in the following areas: serious personal injuries, wrongful death, insurance claims, unfair business practices, wage and hour (overtime) litigation. You can visit his website at www.joesayas law.com or contact his office by telephone at (818) 291-0088.