Opinion ID: 1399294
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Awarding Body's Duties Under the Labor Code

Text: The public works laws (Lab. Code, § 1720 et seq.) impose a variety of responsibilities on public entities awarding contracts for public works. Among its duties, an awarding body must obtain from the Director the prevailing wage rate in the locality for each craft, classification or type of worker needed to carry out the contract (Lab. Code, § 1773); it must then either specify in the call for bids, the bid specifications and in the contract itself what the prevailing wages are, or it must state that those rates are available at the public entity's office. (Lab. Code, § 1773.2.) The awarding body is also required to cause to be inserted into the contract stipulations that, in the event that the contractor fails to pay the prevailing wages, the contractor is liable for penalties and for the shortfall in wages. (Lab. Code, § 1775.) Additionally, the awarding body is required to take cognizance of violations in the execution of the contract (Lab. Code, § 1726) and is expected to assist the DLSE if necessary in court actions to recover unpaid wages and penalties, either where there is insufficient money due the contractor to cover the full amount, or where the awarding body does not owe money directly to the contractor. (Lab. Code, § 1775.) Thus, the awarding body has a variety of responsibilities designed to help ensure that workers are paid the prevailing wages on public works.