CSLB Public Works Practice Questions

1. Prevailing wage requirements apply to public works projects with a contract value of at least:

California prevailing wage law applies to public works contracts of more than $1,000; Section 1771 itself excepts public works projects of $1,000 or less. Above that line the only further relief is conditional: under §1771.5(a) an awarding body that the Director of Industrial Relations has approved to enforce a labor compliance program may choose not to require prevailing wage on a project of $25,000 or less for construction, or $15,000 or less for alteration, demolition, repair or maintenance. The same two figures separately govern DIR registration under §1771.1(n).

2. Who determines the prevailing wage rates that must be paid on a California public works project?

Labor Code §1770 and §1773 make the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations determine the general prevailing rate for each craft and locality, and the rate in effect when the work is performed is the one owed. A contractor cannot set the rate even with the agency's blessing. The awarding body must state in its call for bids that the rates apply, but it copies the Director's determination rather than writing its own. A city council sets its own budget, not the wage determination.

3. Before a contractor may bid on or be awarded a public works contract, the contractor must be registered with:

Labor Code §1725.5 requires annual registration with the DIR, and the registration must be current before the contractor bids, is listed on a bid, is awarded work, or performs covered public work. The CSLB issues the licence but runs no public works registry, so the first option invents a programme. The building department issues permits and inspects; it has no role in wage compliance. The U.S. Department of Labor administers Davis-Bacon on federally funded jobs, not California registration.

4. On a public works project, contractors must submit certified payroll records to:

Labor Code §1776 requires certified payroll to go to the Labor Commissioner, and on a DIR-monitored job §1771.4(a)(3) makes that submission electronic and at least monthly. The CSLB collects renewal fees and never sees payroll. The IRS receives employment tax returns, which report totals to the government rather than certified per-worker records for a project. On public work the owner is the public agency, and it receives records under §1776(b) as the awarding body, not as an owner approving progress payments.

5. The prevailing wage that must be paid on a public works project consists of:

The prevailing wage is made up of a basic hourly rate plus employer payments for fringe benefits such as health care, pension, and training. The total package must meet the DIR determination.

6. On a public works contract that exceeds $25,000, the prime contractor must furnish:

Civil Code §9550 requires the direct contractor on a public works contract over $25,000 to give a payment bond before work begins, and §9554(a) requires an admitted surety insurer to execute it; it exists because subcontractors and suppliers cannot lien public property. A mechanics lien is the private-works remedy and cannot attach here at all. The CSLB licence bond is a $25,000 bond that answers to injured parties generally and is not doubled for public work. The disciplinary bond under B&P §7071.8 is imposed as a condition of licence reinstatement, not by the public works contract.

7. An unpaid subcontractor on a public works project can compel the public agency to withhold project funds by serving:

Since public property cannot be liened, an unpaid claimant on a public works project serves a stop payment notice on the public agency, which must then withhold enough project funds to cover the claim.

8. On most public works projects, contractors are required to:

Labor Code §1777.5 requires the contractor to give the approved apprenticeship committee notice of the award on a DAS-140 under 8 CCR §230, request dispatch, and employ apprentices at the required ratio. Union membership is irrelevant; the programme, not the union, dispatches. Apprentices are paid the apprentice rate in the determination for their period of training, never double the journeyman rate. No residency rule exists: the rate is set by county, but the workers need not live there.