Source: http://courts.mrsc.org/supreme/109wn2d/109wn2d0819.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 01:19:35+00:00

Document:
109 Wn.2d 819, EVERETT CONCRETE v. LABOR & INDUS.
EVERETT CONCRETE v. LABOR & INDUS.
v. The Department of Labor and Industries, Respondent.
 Statutes - Construction - Ambiguity - Scope of Act. When the scope of an enactment is ambiguous, the courts may resort to authority outside the language of the act to resolve the question.
 Administrative Law - Judicial Review - Question of Law Standard of Review. Resolution of a question of law is de novo by a reviewing court although it may accord substantial weight to the interpretation used by the agency charged with administering the applicable statute.
 Public Contracts - Master and Servant - Wages - Prevailing Wages - Public Works - Construction. The public works prevailing wage law (RCW 39.12) is remedial legislation and is to be liberally construed to effect its purpose.
 Statutes - Construction - Similar Federal Law - Purpose of Act. The function to be served by a state statute may be determined by reviewing the purpose of similar federal legislation upon which the state act is based.
 Statutes - Construction - Similar Federal Law - Absence of Specific Provision. The absence of a specific substantial federal provision from a similar state act relieves a court construing the state statute from the necessity of adopting the construction given the federal act.
 Statutes - Construction - Attorney General Opinion - Effect. The interpretation of a statute in an Attorney General opinion is not binding upon the courts but is entitled to considerable weight.
 Public Contracts - Master and Servant - Wages - Prevailing Wages - Public Works - Off-Site Employers. The prevailing wage requirement of RCW 39.12 applies to an employer who fabricates items specifically designed for a particular public works project regardless of where the fabrication occurs or of whether the employer is considered a subcontractor or a materialman.
NATURE OF ACTION: The off-site fabricator of items used in a public works project sought direct appellate review of an administrative determination that the fabricator's employees were to be paid under the public works prevailing wage statute.
Supreme Court: Holding that the fabricator was subject to the provisions of the act, the court AFFIRMS the judgment and the administrative determination.
COUNSEL: DAVID W. WILEY and FREDERICK T. RASMUSSEN, for appellant.
KENNETH O. EIKENBERRY, ATTORNEY GENERAL, and MICHAEL H. WEIER, ASSISTANT, for respondent.
RICHARD H. ROBBLEE on behalf of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, amicus curiae for respondent.
MAJORITY OPINION: Washington's prevailing wage law, RCW 39.12.010 ET SEQ., provides that the wages paid to workers on public works projects must be not less than the prevailing wage for similar work in the locality where the labor on the public works project is performed. RCW 39.12.020. This case presents the issue of whether the prevailing wage law applies to the off-site manufacture of prefabricated items for use on a particular public works project.
In early fall 1982, the Department of Transportation awarded Guy F. Atkinson Construction Co. (Atkinson) the contract for the Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel Public Works Project. Under the terms of the contract, Atkinson was to excavate and construct a tunnel for the Interstate 90 highway in Seattle. The earth at the tunnel site is loose and could not be excavated by traditional methods. As a result, Atkinson designed and utilized concrete tunnel liners to provide a supportive ring in the tunnel during excavation.
In April 1983, Atkinson arranged to have Everett Concrete Products (ECP) manufacture the tunnel liners required for the Mt. Baker project. ECP agreed to manufacture 30,000 lineal feet of liners in accordance with measurements specified by Atkinson and the Department of Transportation. ECP manufactured the tunnel liners on special forms built to meet the size and measurement requirements of the tunnel. The manufacture of the liners took place on these forms at ECP's plant in Everett. Atkinson then contracted with trucking companies to deliver the liners to the site of the project.
In May 1984, general counsel for the Washington and Northern Idaho Council of the Laborers' International Union of North America wrote to the Department of Labor and Industries and asked whether the prevailing wage law applied to ECP's manufacture of tunnel liners for the Mt. Baker project. In response to this inquiry, Labor and Industries sent an industrial statistician to inspect ECP's facility in Everett and the tunnel site in Seattle. After conferring with his superiors, the statistician determined that the prevailing wage law did apply to ECP.
of the department of labor and industries . . .
After a hearing, the administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld Labor and Industries' application of the prevailing wage law to ECP.
ECP contends that the ALJ erred in holding that the prevailing wage law applied to ECP. First, ECP argues that RCW 39.12 should not include off-site product manufacturers within its scope, except under certain narrow circumstances. Second, ECP asserts that the ALJ erred in characterizing ECP as a subcontractor rather than a materialman.
 To determine the scope of Washington's prevailing wage law, we look first to the relevant statutory language. SERVICE EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 6 v. SUPERINTENDENT OF PUB. INSTRUCTION, 104 Wn.2d 344, 348, 705 P.2d 776 (1985). If a statute is unambiguous, its meaning must be derived from its language alone. STEWART CARPET SERV. v. CONTRACTORS BONDING & INS. CO., 105 Wn.2d 353, 358, 715 P.2d 115 (1986). If the statute is ambiguous, resort may be had to other sources to determine its meaning. PUD 1 v. WPPSS, 104 Wn.2d 353, 369, 705 P.2d 1195, 713 P.2d 1009 (1985).
in the locality within the state where such labor is performed.
According to the language of the statute, prevailing wages must be paid to those employed "upon all public works". The ALJ in this case interpreted the phrase "upon all public works" in RCW 39.12.020 to include within its scope work performed off the actual site of the public works project. He held that the prevailing wage law could be extended to cover off-site workers as long as they were "employed in the performance of the contract."
ECP concedes that the prevailing wage law can be applied to off-site work on a public works project. However, it argues that the ALJ erred in extending the scope of RCW 39.12 to cover ECP's manufacture of tunnel liners. It contends that the prevailing wage requirement should be interpreted in accordance with decisions and regulations in other jurisdictions examining state prevailing wage laws and the federal prevailing wage law, the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a). According to these decisions and regulations the prevailing wage requirement would only be imposed on off-site manufacturers having a sufficient nexus to the public works project. Relevant factors in determining whether such nexus exists should include physical location of the project site, the nature of the relationship between the parties performing the work, and the characteristics of the product itself. SEE 29 C.F.R. 5.2(l) (1985); H.B. ZACHRY CO. v. UNITED STATES, 344 F.2d 352, 360 (Cl. Ct. 1965); SITKA v. CONSTRUCTION & GEN. LABORERS, LOCAL 942, 644 P.2d 227, 232 (Alaska 1982).
 The construction of the phrase "upon all public works" involves a question of law. Therefore, we may engage in de novo review, but should accord substantial weight to the agency interpretation. FRANKLIN CY. SHERIFF'S OFFICE v. SELLERS, 97 Wn.2d 317, 325, 646 P.2d 113 (1982), CERT. DENIED, 459 U.S. 1106 (1983).
RCW 39.12.020 does not specifically state whether prevailing wages must be paid to workers employed in the performance of a public works project who are not working on the actual project site. Thus, we must determine its scope from the applicable rules of statutory construction assisted by any interpretation previously given to the statute by the Attorney General or Labor and Industries.
 RCW 39.12 is remedial and should be construed liberally. SOUTHEASTERN WASH. BLDG. & CONSTR. TRADES COUN. v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & INDUS., 91 Wn.2d 41, 44, 586 P.2d 486 (1978). A liberal construction should carry into effect the purpose of the statute. SEE STATE v. DOUTY, 92 Wn.2d 930, 936, 603 P.2d 373 (1979).
This purpose will be served by extending the application of RCW 39.12 to off-site manufacturers involved in public works by preventing contractors from parceling out portions of the work to various off-site manufacturers as a means of avoiding the prevailing wage requirement.
in excess of $2,000, to which the United States . . .
laborers and mechanics . . .
be said to be included in the "site".
the performance of a contract.
ECP contends that the factors set forth in the regulations interpreting the Davis-Bacon Act should be applied to determine whether ECP's manufacture of tunnel liners should be subject to the requirements of RCW 39.12. ECP contends that because its plant is located 40 miles from the site of the Mt. Baker tunnel site and in another county, and because ECP is involved in other projects besides the Mt. Baker tunnel, it should not be required to pay prevailing wages to its employees who are manufacturing tunnel liners.
 ECP's argument would be persuasive if the language of RCW 39.12 was identical to that in the Davis-Bacon Act. However, a court need not adopt the construction placed on a similar statute in another state if the language of the statute in the adopting state is substantially different from the language in the original statute. 2A N. Singer 52.02. "[A] provision of the federal statute cannot be engrafted onto the state statute where the Legislature saw fit not to include such provision." NUCLEONICS ALLIANCE, LOCAL 1-369 v. WPPSS, 101 Wn.2d 24, 34, 677 P.2d 108 (1984).
In this case, the Washington Legislature departed from the language of the Davis-Bacon Act when it enacted RCW 39.12. The Davis-Bacon Act provides for payment of prevailing wages to "mechanics and laborers employed DIRECTLY upon the site of the work". (Italics ours.) 40 U.S.C. 276a. In contrast, RCW 39.12.020 provides for payment of prevailing wages to "laborers, workmen or mechanics, upon all public works". The omission of the word "directly" from the language of RCW 39.12.020 leads to the conclusion that the Legislature intended the scope of the state prevailing wage law to be broader than that of the Davis-Bacon Act. ECP's reliance on regulations interpreting the Davis-Bacon Act is misplaced.
be given great weight in determining legislative intent.
(Italics ours.) Implicit in this rule is the assumption that off-site manufacturers may be subject to the prevailing wage law. As the Department of Labor and Industries noted in its brief, "[i]t makes no sense to explain how to calculate the rate for off-site prefabrication work if the rate does not apply to such work."
for sale on the general market.
AGO 15 (1967), at 10. An Attorney General opinion is not controlling, but is entitled to considerable weight. BELLEVUE FIRE FIGHTERS, LOCAL 1604 v. BELLEVUE, 100 Wn.2d 748, 751 n.1, 675 P.2d 592, CERT. DENIED, 471 U.S. 1015 (1984).
ECP urges the court to limit RCW 39.12 by restricting its application to on-site employers and those off-site employers having a sufficient nexus with the site of the public works project. We find a broader interpretation appropriate in view of the overall purpose behind RCW 39.12, significant differences in language between RCW 39.12.020 and comparable language in the Davis-Bacon Act, and the prior interpretations of RCW 39.12 by the Department of Labor and Industries and the Attorney General.
ECP also challenges the ALJ's classification of ECP as a subcontractor rather than a materialman. The ALJ stated that employers supplying materials to public works projects are not required to pay their employees prevailing wages, but held that ECP was a subcontractor, as defined in NEARY v. PUGET SOUND ENG'G CO., 114 Wash. 1, 8, 194 P. 830 (1921). NEARY stated that a subcontractor is "one who takes from the principal contractor a specific part of the work". The ALJ determined that ECP fit this definition because it "took the raw materials of sand and gravel and cement and by the application of a particular process turned them into a unique product capable of being used largely only on the Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel."
specified hourly minimum rate of wage.
(Italics ours.) This language should be contrasted with the Davis Bacon Act, which limits the application of prevailing wage requirements to employees of contractors and subcontractors. SEE 40 U.S.C. 276a(a). Because of the inclusion of the phrase "or other person doing or contracting to do the whole or any part of the work contemplated by the contract" in RCW 39.12.030, Washington's prevailing wage law should not be limited in application to employees of contractors and subcontractors, but can be extended to include employees of materialmen in certain situations.
RCW 39.12.030 has been so construed. The 1967 Attorney General opinion stated that the prevailing wage requirements of RCW 39.12 apply to materialmen engaged in the manufacture of prefabricated items produced specifically for a particular public works project. AGO 15 (1967), at 6, 7. The opinion distinguished between the off-site production of standard materials to be used in a public works project and the off-site manufacture of items manufactured specifically for a project.
It is asserted that the Attorney General's opinion was misguided in its reliance on HAGUE v. CLEARY, 48 P.2d 5 (Cal. 1935) which was, according to the brief of appellant ECP, overruled SUB SILENTIO by PACIFIC MFG. CO. v. LEAVY, 14 Cal. App. 2d 640, 58 P.2d 1292 (1936). Both cases involved a public works prevailing wage ordinance of the City and County of San Francisco. We note that HAGUE v. CLEARY, SUPRA, is from the California Supreme Court and that its decision could not be overruled by a decision of the California Court of Appeals either "SUB SILENTIO" or directly. We further note that the cases are not in conflict. HAGUE holds that when goods are manufactured for a public works contractor upon special order and not for the general market, the contract can be construed as one for labor. PACIFIC MFG. held that millwork purchased by a general contractor for installation in a public school being built by the contractor was MATERIAL furnished not in specific performance of a public work, but as the furnishing of a general purpose chattel. PACIFIC MFG., a suit brought to compel payment for millwork by the city comptroller, does not mention HAGUE v. CLEARY, SUPRA. HAGUE does stand for the proposition that when off-site prefabrication of a component part takes place for specific use of the item on a specific public works project, then the prevailing wage ordinance of San Francisco applied, while PACIFIC MFG. required the City to pay for millwork placed in a public school by the general contractor regardless of whether the millwork manufacturer complied with the ordinance. AGO 15 (1967) is not weakened by the rationale of PACIFIC MFG.
While the Attorney General's adoption of the standard/nonstandard distinction to determine whether employees of off-site manufacturers are covered by the prevailing wage law is not determinative, this distinction was also made in WAC 296-127-020. WAC 296-127-020 states that "[s]tandard items for sale on the general market are not subject to the requirements of chapter 39.12 RCW", leading to the conclusion that nonstandard items are covered under RCW 39.12.
(Italics ours.) The ALJ stated that "[t]he evidence in this case clearly indicates that although the process of manufacturing the items was unique, nonetheless the tunnel liners were produced to specifications provided by the prime contractor and used specifically on the tunnel project."
In determining that ECP was involved in the manufacture of a nonstandard item, the ALJ was making a finding of fact, rather than a conclusion of law. As such, his determination may be overturned only if it is clearly erroneous. FRANKLIN CY. SHERIFF'S OFFICE v. SELLERS, 97 Wn.2d 317, 324, 646 P.2d 113 (1982), CERT. DENIED, 459 U.S. 1106 (1983). A finding of fact is clearly erroneous "'when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.'" SELLERS, at 324 (quoting ANCHETA v. DALY, 77 Wn.2d 255, 259-60, 461 P.2d 531 (1969)). In this case, the tunnel liners were made to measurement specifications provided by Atkinson specifically for the Mt. Baker Tunnel Project. ALJ's finding that the tunnel liners manufactured by ECP were nonstandard items was not clearly erroneous.
RCW 39.12.020 provides that prevailing wages must be paid to workers "upon all public works". This language must be construed to require application of the prevailing wage requirement to off site manufacturers, when they are producing nonstandard items specifically for a public works project. In this way the use of cheap labor from distant areas is avoided and the purpose of RCW 39.12 is not circumvented. Here ECP's manufacture of tunnel liners for the Mt. Baker Ridge Tunnel Public Works Project constituted the manufacture of nonstandard items for a public works project. The ALJ correctly held that ECP was required to pay employees who manufactured the tunnel liners prevailing wages in accordance with the requirements of RCW 39.12.
CONCURRING JUDGES: Pearson, C.J., and Utter, Brachtenbach, Dolliver, Dore, Andersen, Goodloe, and Durham, JJ., concur.

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