Section 403. Labor Provisions — Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process Guidelines (final updated)

The Labor Provisions in the Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process, located in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Government Code section 65913.4, contain requirements regarding payment of prevailing wages and use of a skilled and trained workforce in the construction of the development.

The development proponent shall certify both of the following to the locality to which the development application is submitted:

(a) The entirety of the development is a public work project, as defined in Section 102(s) above, or if the development is not in its entirety a public work, that all construction workers employed in the execution of the development will be paid at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area.
- (1) The Department of Industrial Relations posts on its website letters and decisions on administrative appeal issued by the Department in response to requests to determine whether a specific project or type of work is a “public work” covered under the state’s Prevailing Wage Laws. These coverage determinations, which are advisory only, are indexed by date and project and available at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/OPRL/pwdecision.asp

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(2) The general prevailing rate is determined by the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code. General prevailing wage rate determinations are posted on the Department of Industrial Relations’ website at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/DPreWageDetermination.htm.
(3) Apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate. To find out if an apprentice is registered in an approved program, please consult the Division of Apprenticeship Standards’ “Apprenticeship Status and Safety Training Certification” database at https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/appcertpw/appcertsearch.asp.
(4) To find the apprentice prevailing wage rates, please visit the Department of Industrial Relations’ website at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/OPRL/PWAppWage/PWAppWageStart.asp. If you are interested in requesting an apprentice, a list of approved programs is available at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/das/aigstart.asp. General information regarding the state’s Prevailing Wage Laws is available in the Department of Industrial -
Relations’ Public Works website (https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public Works/PublicWorks.html) and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement Public Works Manual (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/PWManualCombined.pdf).
(5) For those portions of the development that are not a public work, all of the following shall apply:
- (A) The development proponent shall ensure that the prevailing wage requirement is included in all contracts for the performance of the work.
(B) All contractors and subcontractors shall pay to all construction workers employed in the execution of the work at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, except that apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate.
- (C) All contractors and subcontractors shall maintain and verify payroll records pursuant to Section 1776 of the Labor Code and make those records available for inspection and copying as provided therein.
  - i. The obligation of the contractors and subcontractors to pay prevailing wages may be enforced by the Labor Commissioner through the issuance of a civil wage and penalty assessment pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor Code, which may be reviewed pursuant to Section 1742 of the Labor Code, within 18 months after the completion of the development, by an underpaid worker through an administrative complaint or civil action, or by a joint labor-management committee though a civil action under Section 1771.2 of the Labor Code. If a civil wage and penalty assessment is issued, the contractor, subcontractor, and surety on a bond or bonds issued to secure the payment of wages covered by the assessment shall be liable for liquidated damages pursuant to Section 1742.1 of the Labor Code.

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  - ii. The payroll record and Labor Commissioner enforcement provisions in (C) and (C)(i), above, shall not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the development are subject to a project labor agreement, as defined in Section 102(r) above, that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction workers employed in the execution of the development and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure.

(D) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 1773.1 of the Labor Code, the requirement that employer payments not reduce the obligation to pay the hourly straight time or overtime wages found to be prevailing shall not apply if otherwise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement covering the worker. The requirement to pay at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages does not preclude use of an alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Sections 511 or 514 of the Labor Code.
(b) For developments for which any of the following conditions in the charts below apply, that a skilled and trained workforce, as defined in Section 102(y) above, shall be used to complete the development if the application is approved .

Developments Located in Coastal or Bay Counties

Date	Population of Locality to which Development Submitted pursuant to the last Centennial Census	Number of Housing Units in Development
January 1, 2018, until December 31, 2021	225,000 or more	75 or more
January 1, 2022, until December 31, 2025	225,000 or more	50 or more

Developments Located in Non-Coastal or Non-Bay Counties

Date	Population of Locality to which Development Submitted pursuant to the last Centennial Census	Number of Housing Units in Development
January 1, 2018, until December 31, 2019	Fewer than 550,000	75 or more
January 1, 2020, until December 31, 2021	Fewer than 550,000	More than 50
January 1, 2022, until December 31, 2025	Fewer than 550,000	More than 25

(1) Coastal and Bay Counties include: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Ventura.

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(2) Non-Coastal and Non-Bay Counties include: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.
(3) The skilled and trained workforce requirement in this subparagraph is not applicable to developments with a residential component that is 100 percent subsidized affordable housing.
(4) If the development proponent has certified that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to complete the development and the application is approved, the following shall apply:
- (A) The applicant shall require in all contracts for the performance of work that every contractor and subcontractor at every tier will individually use a skilled and trained workforce to complete the development.
- (B) Every contractor and subcontractor shall use a skilled and trained workforce to complete the development.
- (C) The applicant shall provide to the locality, on a monthly basis while the development or contract is being performed, a report demonstrating compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
  - i. A monthly report provided to the locality pursuant to this subclause shall be a public record under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1) and shall be open to public inspection. An applicant that fails to provide a monthly report demonstrating compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code shall be subject to a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month for each month for which the report has not been provided.

ith Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1) and shall be open to public inspection. An applicant that fails to provide a monthly report demonstrating compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code shall be subject to a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month for each month for which the report has not been provided.

  - ii. Any contractor or subcontractor that fails to use a skilled and trained workforce shall be subject to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200) per day for each worker employed in contravention of the skilled and trained workforce requirement. Penalties may be assessed by the Labor Commissioner within 18 months of completion of the development using the same procedures for issuance of civil wage and penalty assessments pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor Code and may be reviewed pursuant to the same procedures in Section 1742 of the Labor Code. Penalties shall be paid to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund. 

  - iii. The requirements in (C), (C)(i), and (C)(ii), above, do not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the development are subject to a project labor agreement that requires compliance with the skilled and trained workforce requirement and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure.

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(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a development is exempt from any requirement to pay prevailing wages or use a skilled and trained workforce if it meets both of the following:
- (1) The project includes 10 or fewer housing units.
- (2) The project is not a public work for purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(d) Offsite fabrication is not subject to this Section if it takes place at a permanent, offsite manufacturing facility and the location and existence of that facility is determined wholly without regard to the particular development. However, offsite fabrication performed at a temporary facility that is dedicated to the development is subject to Section 403.

NOTE: Authority cited: Government Code section 65913.4(l). Reference cited: Government Code section 65913.4(a), Subdivision (d) of Section 2601 of the Public Contract Code, Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, Local 104, v. John C. Duncan (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 192 [176 Cal.Rptr.3d 634].