Under Labor Code §1775, what is the maximum statutory penalty per worker per day for a contractor's willful underpayment of prevailing wages on a public works project?
Explanation
Labor Code §1775(a) lets the Labor Commissioner assess up to $200 for each worker for each calendar day of underpayment, on top of the wage difference owed to the worker, with the amount set by the gravity of the offence and the contractor's history. A percentage of the contract price is not in §1775 and would make the penalty independent of how many workers were shortchanged. Treble damages belong to other wage statutes, not to this one. The $50 rate with a $5,000 project cap borrows the shape of the §1771.4 records penalty and applies it to the wrong violation.
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