On June 27, 2017, the Governor signed SB 96, amending the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) prevailing wage monitoring program (“Program”) for public works projects. Among other changes to the Program, public agencies now have 30 days (instead of five days under current law) from the award of a contract—less if contractor has workers employed upon the project sooner—to provide notice to the DIR (PWC-100 form). Other changes in SB 96 that affect public agencies include:
- PWC-100 forms must be filed for construction projects over $25,000 (previously $1,000).
- PWC-100 forms must be filed for maintenance projects over $15,000 (previously $1,000).
- Failure to timely file PWC-100 form or permitting an unregistered contractor to perform work is subject to a fine of $100 per day, with a maximum fine of $10,000.
- Final payment due to a contractor must be withheld until at least 30 days after PWC-100 is filed. If the public agency makes final payment after 30 days and an unregistered contractor is found to have worked on the project, the public agency is subject to a fine of $100 for each full calendar day of noncompliance, for a period of up to 100 days, for each unregistered contractor.
- A “willful violator” (i.e., two Program violations within 12 months) shall be ineligible for state facility funding for all construction projects undertaken by the public agency for one year.
- A public agency cannot require a contractor to indemnify or otherwise be liable for any penalties assessed against a public agency.
The Labor Commissioner has discretion to determine the severity of the violation and amount of penalty, including the ability to waive the penalty for a first-time violation if the Labor Commissioner determines the violation to be unintentional.
SB 96 goes into effect immediately.
Dannis Woliver Kelley has experience handling a wide variety of public works issues and can assist your district in determining the impact of this new legislation on your district’s public works program. If you have questions about SB 96, please contact a DWK attorney.
