Salmonid Restoration Federation
PO Box 784, Redway, CA 95560
www.calsalmon.org, srf@northcoast.com
Phone: (707) 223-1770, Fax: (707) 923-4210

CALIFORNIA STATE

PREVAILING WAGES 101
For
WATERSHED GROUPS AND OTHERS

April 22, 2004

RECENT STATE AGENCY NOTICES

Department of Fish and Game Project Solicitation Notice dated April 5th, 2004. “State grants are subject to the California Labor Code Requirements, which include prevailing wage provisions. Depending on the type of project undertaken, prevailing wages may need to be paid, even if the work is performed by volunteers. For more details regarding the Labor Code requirements, please refer to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) website at: http://www.dir.ca.gov.”

State Water Resources Control Board Grantee Notice, March 2004. “The use of volunteers on state grant or loan funded projects may be precluded by the Labor Code. Interpretations of the Labor Code by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) indicate that all site work on all projects involving construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work is subject to prevailing wage requirements. These requirements include paying prevailing wages for activities associated with these projects including activities sometimes done by volunteers such as mulching, planting seeds, seedlings, or vegetative stakes, trash removal, and other related groundwork. Planning and design work leading to construction are subject to the prevailing wage requirement. In addition, assessment work designed to provide planning and design information for a public works project is also likely subject to the prevailing wage requirement.”

Department of Water Resources Urban Stream Restoration Program has also notified its grantees that their work may be subject to prevailing wage requirements.

The Sate Coastal Conservancy has also produced a handout for its grantees on the current status of the prevailing wage and volunteer laws.
All four agencies recommend talking with your own attorneys to clarify Labor Code requirements, and to make your own independent conclusions Local labor Unions and trade representatives can also be of help. Labor Commissioners and DIR can make final decisions.

WHAT DO THESE CHANGES MEAN FOR MY ORGANIZATION

We have to deal with it! There is no other choice. With a social focus, many feel that this change is good and will lead to living wages for valued restoration workers improving community stability. With a biological focus, others are concerned about less work getting done and worry about the fate of endangered species that many of the grant programs were designed to help. Everyone is concerned about the new restrictions on the use of volunteers.

Sacramento is abuzz with talk of administrative and legislative fixes. Different interests are posturing and strategizing their game plan. Meanwhile we grantees are left with more questions than answers. So what do we do?

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS OFFERED ONLY AS AN AID. WE WANT TO HELP. PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION TO BE THE END ALL. CONSULT YOUR LOCAL UNIONS, TRADE ORGANIZATIONS, LOCAL LABOR COMMISSIONIONERS, AND DIR, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL. VOLUNTEER INFORMATION IS A WHOLE OTHER SUBJECT AND NOT COVERED HERE. SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT ON CONSTRUCTION AND ALTERATION PROJECTS over $1,000 IN VALUE. VOLUNTEERS CANNOT CURRENTLY BE USED. EVERYONE MUST BE PAID AT PREVAILING WAGES UNLESS EXEMPT. ONLY DIR CAN DETERMINE EXEMPTIONS AND CAN TAKE UP TO 90 DAYS OR LONGER. THIS PAPER IS ABOUT PREVAILING WAGES.

SO HOW DO WE DEAL WITH PREVAILING WAGES?
PROJECT STATUS:
From our perspective as a grantee, projects fall into five general categories;

  1. Closed grants/accounts that have been closed for over three years (180 days is the statute of limitations on claims filed by non-employees);
    SUGGESTION: NOTHING TO DO

  2. Closed grants within the last three years;
    SUGGESTION: Wait for three years to pass; if a claim arises in the three year period, then file a claim with the awarding body for any judgment of costs if the awarding body failed to notify you of prevailing wage requirements; (REFER TO SB 966 (CHAPTER 804, STATUTES OF 2003)

  3. Open grants for which funds have been expended, but grant is still open;
    SUGGESTION: Seek additional funds from the awarding body to cover the costs of any owed prevailing wages and amend contract appropriately. If no additional funds are available from the awarding body, then Wait for the three years to pass from the close of the grant and if a claim arises in the three year period, then file a claim with the awarding body for any judgment of costs if the awarding body failed to notify you of prevailing wage requirements.

  4. Open grants for which funds are still left.;
    SUGGESTION: Seek additional funds from awarding body, but if not available, then have awarding body amend scope of work first and then use remaining funds to cover prevailing wages owed, as appropriate.

  5. Grants currently under development, not funded yet;
    SUGGESTION: Base all budgets in new projects under development on prevailing wages likely to be in place at the time of implementation. Do this using current prevailing wages and project out two years.


STEPS TO DETERMINING WAGES

  1. Refer to the DIR web site: http://www.dir.ca.gov.
  2. Identify trades involved in the work, appropriate classifications, and wage determinations. Local Unions and trade reps can be very helpful with this;
  3. Identify area of county that work will happen in and type and size of equipment to be used;
  4. Determine if subsistence pay (owed if travel is over so many miles), per diem, or lodging are owed based on project specifics logistics;

The following is our determination of trades and wages for our work in our area based on the DIR web site and conversations with our local trade representatives and others.

The following are 2004 rates from the DIR website for Humboldt County (Area noted as 1 or 2 where applicable)

Type of Project		Trade			Wage	+Benefit	Total	
		*Survey for design & monitoring)				
		Craft-Building/Construction Inspector and Field Soils and material Tester (page 54, DIR)
		Engineering Tech		$23.94	+$11.42		=$35.36

*  Only the parts of the survey/assessment that involve classic surveying are subject 
to prevailing wage.  Most of the rest of the tasks involve geology, hydrology and 
other professional tasks not covered by prevailing wages.

There are several different wages for trainees in this craft.

Assessment			none
Planning & Design		Licensed architects, engineers, and design-builder contractors,
	and registered professional foresters as regards forestry; are not covered by 
	prevailing wages (PV) requirements;
Monitoring
	Photograph		photography		not PV
	Observe			none			not PV
	Report			writer			not PV
	Mapping			cartographer		not PV
Permitting			consultant		not PV
Education/Outreach		educator		not PV
Interpretation 		i	nterpreter		not PV

Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work including: 
	Beach clean ups, Creek clean ups, In-stream work, Bank work, Upslope work,
	Gullies, Road maintenance, Road removal, Riparian work, Wetlands work,
	Recreation site development, Sign construct/install and revegetation; the
	following trades may be involved…
Craft-Carpenter and related trades (Page 34, DIR)
	Area 3 - Carpenter			$23.52+12.475	+$35.995

Craft-Laborer and Related Classifications (Page 49, DIR)			
	  Group 3 - Construction Laborer (1)	$22.39+$10.20	=$32.59		 
	  Group 4 - Cleanup Laborer (1)		$16.08+$10.20	=$26.28
	  Group 5 - Entry Level Laborer (1)	$11.40+$10.20	=$21.60
	  Group 7 - Trainee Laborer (1 per 3)1$15.67+$10.20	=$25.87

Type of Project	Trade				Wage	+Benefit	Total	
**Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work
	Craft-Operating Engineer - Area 2 (Central/ Coastal Humboldt)
	Group 3 				$33.17	+$14.96		=$48.13
		 Includes: excavators up to 3.5 cubic yards, dozer, loader over 4 cubic yards;
	Group 8-A				$24.71	+$14.96		=$39.67
		 Includes: backhoe

	Craft-Teamster
	Group 3					$23.62	+$14.10		=$37.72
		Includes: Dump trucks 8-24 cubic yards
** There are numerous other types of equipment that may be used on a job.  
Review the info on the DIR website.
Note:
#1 There may be holiday, travel, and or subsistence payments also due in addition to the wages and benefits listed above;
#2 Remember to add employer matching taxes, appropriate workers comp, and necessary overhead to the above wages and benefits;
#3 Adjust everything up according to the estimated year of implementation and the estimated costs for that time period;

Question: WHAT IF THE FUNDS OR LAND ARE PART FEDERAL AND PART
STATE ?
Answer: ALWAYS DEFAULT TO THE HIGHER RATE.

EXEMPT EMPLOYEES
Federal and state laws exempt certain employees from the wage and hour laws. An exempt employee normally is an executive, administrative, or professional employee. Some of the possible categories of employees might be Supervisors, Technicians, Managers, Directors, Foreman/women or others.
An employee will qualify as an executive if he/she customarily and regularly supervises at least two full-time employees or the equivalent. The primary duty must be management. Examples of non-exempt duties include:
• Performing the same kind of work as subordinates
• Performing any production work
• Performing maintenance work

Bottom line is that the classic “working supervisor” on many of our jobs in not exempt from prevailing wages.

Conclusion

Times they are a changing. We have to adapt. New laws will be created, volunteers will be allowed again, and eventually labor codes and contracting laws will catch up with our rapidly evolving industry. Good luck.


Co-Director of Natural Resources Services of
Redwood community Action Agency and a
National Watershed Coordinator
904 G Street, Eureka, Ca 95501
707-269-2065
>sungnome@rcaa.org<

PS. Do not kill the messanger….