2023 Nevada Revised Statutes › Chapter 338 - Public Works › NRS 338.01165 - Requirements relating to use of apprentices on public works; documentation of compliance; annual report; penalties; apprenticeship agreement; regulations.

1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter and except as otherwise provided in this section, a contractor or subcontractor engaged in vertical construction who employs workers on one or more public works during a calendar year pursuant to NRS 338.040 shall use one or more apprentices for at least 10 percent, or any increased percentage established pursuant to subsection 3, of the total hours of labor worked for each apprenticed craft or type of work to be performed on those public works.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter and except as otherwise provided in this section, a contractor or subcontractor engaged in horizontal construction who employs workers on one or more public works during a calendar year pursuant to NRS 338.040 shall use one or more apprentices for at least 3 percent, or any increased percentage established pursuant to subsection 3, of the total hours of labor worked for each apprenticed craft or type of work to be performed on those public works.
3. On or after January 1, 2021, the Labor Commissioner, in collaboration with the State Apprenticeship Council, may adopt regulations to increase the percentage of total hours of labor required to be performed by an apprentice pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 by not more than 2 percentage points.
4. An apprentice who graduates from an apprenticeship program while employed on a public work shall:
(a) Be deemed an apprentice on the public work for the purposes of subsections 1 and 2.
(b) Be deemed a journeyman for all other purposes, including, without limitation, the payment of wages or the payment of wages and benefits to a journeyman covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
5. If a contractor or subcontractor who is a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with a union that sponsors an apprenticeship program for an apprenticed craft or type of work for which the term of apprenticeship is not more than 3 years requests an apprentice from that apprenticeship program and an apprentice in the appropriate craft or type of work is not available, the contractor or subcontractor may utilize a person who graduated from the apprenticeship program in that craft or type of work within the 3 years immediately preceding the request from the contractor or subcontractor. Such a person:
(a) Shall be deemed an apprentice on the public work for the purposes of subsections 1 and 2.
(b) Shall be deemed a journeyman for all other purposes, including, without limitation, the payment of wages and benefits to a journeyman pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement.
6. A contractor or subcontractor engaged on a public work is not required to use an apprentice in a craft or type of work performed in a jurisdiction recognized by the State Apprenticeship Council as not having apprentices in that craft or type of work.
7. A contractor or subcontractor engaged on a public work shall maintain and provide to the Labor Commissioner any supporting documentation to show that the contractor or subcontractor made a good faith effort to comply with subsection 1 or 2, as applicable, as determined by the Labor Commissioner. For purposes of this subsection, a contractor or subcontractor:
(a) Makes a good faith effort to comply with subsection 1 or 2, as applicable, if the contractor or subcontractor:
(1) Submits to the apprenticeship program, on the form prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, a request for an apprentice not earlier than 10 days before the contractor or subcontractor is scheduled to begin work on the public work and not later than 5 days after the contractor or subcontractor actually begins work on the public work.
(2) If the apprenticeship program does not provide an apprentice for the appropriate apprenticed craft or type of work upon a request pursuant to subparagraph (1), submits additional requests to the apprenticeship program, on the form prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, at least once every 30 days during the period that the contractor or subcontractor is working on the public work. If a contractor or subcontractor does not work continuously on the public work, the contractor or subcontractor shall submit an additional request each time that the contractor or subcontractor resumes work on the public work not earlier than 10 days before the contractor or subcontractor is scheduled to resume work on the public work and not later than 5 days after the contractor or subcontractor actually resumes work on the public work. The requirement for the submission of an additional request in this subparagraph does not apply whenever a contractor or subcontractor has one or more apprentices employed for that apprenticed craft or type of work.
(b) Does not make a good faith effort to comply with subsection 1 or 2, as applicable, as determined by the Labor Commissioner, if the contractor or subcontractor is required to enter into an apprenticeship agreement pursuant to subsection 16 and refuses to do so.
8. The supporting documentation required pursuant to subsection 7 may include, without limitation:
(a) Documentation of the submission by the contractor or subcontractor of one or more requests, as applicable, pursuant to subsection 7; and
(b) Documentation that the apprenticeship program denied such a request, did not respond to such a request or responded that the program was unable to provide the requested apprentice.
9. The contractor or subcontractor and the apprenticeship program shall coordinate the starting date for any apprentice provided by the program.
10. On or before February 15 of each year, a contractor or subcontractor engaged in vertical or horizontal construction, as applicable, who employs a worker on one or more public works pursuant to NRS 338.040 shall report to the Labor Commissioner, on the form prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, the following information regarding those public works for the previous calendar year:
(a) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the total number of hours worked on vertical construction.
(b) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the total number of hours worked on horizontal construction.
(c) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the total number of hours worked by apprentices on vertical construction.
(d) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the total number of hours worked by apprentices on horizontal construction.
(e) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the percentage of the total number of hours worked on vertical construction that were worked by apprentices.
(f) For each apprenticed craft or type of work, the percentage of the total number of hours worked on horizontal construction that were worked by apprentices.
11. The information required to be reported pursuant to subsection 10 must not include any identifying information about a public work or an apprentice or employee.
12. If the Labor Commissioner, on his or her own initiative or based on a complaint, makes a determination based on the information submitted pursuant to subsection 10 that a contractor or subcontractor did not make a good faith effort to comply with the provisions of subsection 1 or 2, as applicable, the Labor Commissioner shall notify the contractor or subcontractor in writing of the determination and:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), shall assess a penalty as follows:
(1) If the apprentice utilization rate by the contractor or subcontractor on vertical construction of a public work is:
(I) Seven and one-half percent or more but less than 10 percent of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $2,500 or $2 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(II) More than 4 percent but less than 7.5 percent of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $3,000 or $4 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(III) Four percent or less of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $5,000 or $6 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(2) If the apprentice utilization rate by the contractor or subcontractor on horizontal construction of a public work is:
(I) Two percent or more but less than 3 percent of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $2,500 or $2 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(II) More than 1 percent but less than 2 percent of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $3,000 or $4 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(III) One percent or less of the total hours of labor worked for an apprenticed craft or type of work, a penalty of $5,000 or $6 for each hour below the percentage required, whichever is higher.
(b) Shall not assess a penalty if the total number of hours of labor required to be worked by apprentices:
(1) On vertical construction pursuant to subsection 1, as applicable, during the previous calendar year is less than 40 hours.
(2) On horizontal construction pursuant to subsection 2, as applicable, during the previous calendar year is less than 24 hours.
13. Except for good cause, the Labor Commissioner may not initiate his or her own investigation or accept a complaint based on the information submitted by a contractor or subcontractor pursuant to subsection 10 after May 1 immediately following the date on which the report was received by the Labor Commissioner.
14. In addition to the penalties set forth in subsection 12, if the Labor Commissioner, on his or her own initiative or based on a complaint, makes a determination that a contractor or subcontractor did not submit the report required pursuant to subsection 10 or made no attempt to comply with the provisions of subsection 1 or 2, as applicable, the Labor Commissioner shall:
(a) Impose a penalty of not less than $10,000 but not more than $75,000; or
(b) Disqualify the contractor or subcontractor from being awarded a contract for a public work for at least 180 days but not more than 2 years.
15. A contractor or subcontractor may request a hearing on the determination of the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subsection 12 or 14 within 10 days after receipt of the determination of the Labor Commissioner. The hearing must be conducted in accordance with regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner. If the Labor Commissioner does not receive a request for a hearing pursuant to this subsection, the determination of the Labor Commissioner is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review pursuant to chapter 233B of NRS.
16. A contractor or subcontractor who is not a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with the union sponsoring the apprenticeship program for an apprenticed craft or type of work engaged on a public work shall enter into an apprenticeship agreement for each apprentice required to be used in the construction of a public work.
17. As used in this section:
(a) "Apprentice" means a person enrolled in an apprenticeship program recognized by the State Apprenticeship Council.
(b) "Apprenticed craft or type of work" means a craft or type of work for which there is an existing apprenticeship program recognized by the State Apprenticeship Council.
(c) "Apprenticeship program" means an apprenticeship program recognized by the State Apprenticeship Council.
(d) "Journeyman" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 624.260.
(e) "State Apprenticeship Council" means the State Apprenticeship Council created by NRS 610.030.
(Added to NRS by 2019, 3154; A 2023, 2818)