Prevailing wages: payroll records.

Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner, if the commissioner or his or her designee determines after an investigation that there has been a violation of the public works provisions, to issue a civil wage and penalty assessment to the contractor or subcontractor, or both. The assessment is required to be in writing, describe the nature of the violation and the amount of wages, penalties, and forfeitures due, and include the basis for the assessment. The assessment is required to be served not later than 180 days after the filing of a valid notice of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in which the public work or some part thereof was performed, or not later than 180 days after acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs last. If the assessment is served after the expiration of the 180-day period, but before the expiration of an additional 180 days, and the awarding body has not yet made full payment to the contractor, the assessment is valid up to the amount of the funds retained. This bill would change the deadline for service of the assessment to not later than 18 months after the filing of a valid notice of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in which the public work or some part thereof was performed, or not later than 18 months after acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs last. The bill would delete the provisions with regard to an assessment served after the expiration of the 180-day period. Existing law requires contractors engaged in public works to pay employees the prevailing wage, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, and to comply with requirements relating to recordkeeping and employee work schedules. A joint labor-management committee, established pursuant to a specified provision of federal law, is authorized to bring an action against any employer who fails to pay prevailing wages as required by state law. The action is required to be commenced not later than 180 days after the filing of a valid notice of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in which the public work, or some part thereof, was performed, or not later than 180 days after acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs last. This bill would delete the 180-day requirement and would instead require that the action be commenced not later than 18 months after the filing of a valid notice of completion in the office of the county recorder in each county in which the public work or some part thereof was performed, or not later than 18 months after acceptance of the public work, whichever occurs last. The bill would require, among other things, the court, in an action on prevailing wages, to award restitution to an employee for unpaid wages, plus interest, from the date the wages became payable, and liquidated damages equal to the amount of unpaid wages owed, and would authorize the imposition of civil penalties only against an employer that failed to pay the prevailing wage to its employees, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate equitable relief. Existing law requires each contractor and subcontractor to keep accurate payroll records showing the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time, and overtime hours worked each day and week, and the actual per diem wages paid to each journeyman, apprentice, worker, or other employee employed by him or her in connection with the public work. Any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee is required to be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's name and social security number. This bill would instead require that any copy of payroll records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee, established pursuant to federal law, is required to be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's social security number. The bill would also require that any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund that requests the records for the purposes of allocating contributions to participants be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's full social security number, but provide the last 4 digits of the social security number. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.