JMBM's Prevailing Wage Group advises and defends developers, contractors, and manufacturers on the most challenging and complex prevailing wage matters in California.
Every construction project in California is at risk for prevailing wage claims.
The California Prevailing Wage Law was passed in the 1930s as a way to ensure that workers on public projects were paid at prevailing market rates. But in recent years, the Prevailing Wage Law has been dramatically reshaped and expanded. It has become a tool for workers to demand union wages on virtually any construction project in California. These claims can increase the cost of a major construction project by millions of dollars—and can be brought years after construction is complete.
Our goals are:
California Prevailing Wage Law requires workers on publicly-funded construction projects—called "public works"—to be paid union wages, as determined by the State. However, in recent years, the definition of public works has greatly expanded. Many projects that were previously considered private are now "public works" subject to prevailing wage requirements. The rules governing which projects are covered are complex, rapidly changing, and largely unwritten.
As a result, many clients—even sophisticated and experienced developers—find themselves in situations where projects they were certain did not require prevailing wages are suddenly deemed to be public works. This can mean millions of dollars in liability for unpaid wages, penalties, and plaintiffs' legal fees.
The JMBM Prevailing Wage Group has unrivaled expertise in identifying prevailing wage issues and minimizing the application of the Prevailing Wage Law to our clients' projects.
FEDERAL PREVAILING WAGE LAW (DAVIS-BACON)The federal prevailing wage law—known as the Davis-Bacon Act—has also expanded rapidly in recent years. Davis-Bacon requirements have been added to numerous federal grant and loan programs, perhaps most notably the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee programs for renewable energy.
More than 60 federal statutes now require varying degrees of compliance with Davis-Bacon. Our experienced team can help identify and resolve any issues related to compliance with these requirements.
MAKING PROJECTS "BULLET-PROOF"The best way to resolve prevailing wage disputes is to prevent them from occurring. Our team works closely with clients to identify prevailing wage issues at an early stage and structure projects to minimize prevailing wage liability at the outset.
DEFENDING AGAINST ENFORCEMENT ACTIONSIn 2013 the California Labor Commissioner brought more than 400 enforcement actions against developers and contractors, and collected a record-breaking $17.7 million in retroactive prevailing wage payments. Our team defends clients against such administrative actions and has obtained positive results for our clients.
OBTAINING ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGSIn some cases, the best approach is to obtain an advance ruling from the State on whether a proposed project is subject to prevailing wage requirements. Such a ruling is known as a Public Works Coverage Determination. The JMBM team frequently obtains such rulings and assists the Department of Industrial Relations in determining whether proposed projects are public works subject to prevailing wage requirements.
DEFENDING AGAINST WORKER LAWSUITSEven when the State determines that a project is not subject to prevailing wage, individual workers and labor groups can bring prevailing wage lawsuits up to four years after work on the project is complete. Our seasoned team aggressively defends clients against such lawsuits.
NEGOTIATING WITH LABOR UNIONSSometimes the best way to avoid a prevailing wage dispute is to negotiate an agreement in advance with the unions, known as a Project Labor Agreement. JMBM's team is experienced in negotiating such agreements. We have both prevailing wage expertise and traditional labor experience—a rare combination. In addition, the team can draw on the broad experience of our attorneys in the Labor & Employment Group with regard to any union issues.