Introduction
California Senate Bill 854, was signed into law June 20, 2014, and became effective immediately. The bill established a new public works contractor registration program which will collect fees to fund compliance monitoring and enforcement, determine prevailing wage and public works coverage, and hear enforcement appeals.
Public works refers to construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid in whole or in part out of public funds. For a full definition of public works refer to Labor Code section 1720.
All contractors and subcontractors intending to bid or perform work on University public works projects, which do not meet the Small Works Exemption, will be required to register, and annually renew, online for the program. This is a DIR fee paid to the State. The University will not register a contractor, nor collect funds.
Contractors or subcontractors submitting bids for public works projects which do not meet the Small Works Exemption must be registered. No bid can be accepted nor any contract or subcontract entered into nor purchase order issued without proof that the contractor or subcontractor is registered with the DIR.
Effective immediately, Procurement Services will be required to complete a PCW-100 form alerting the DIR of the public works project and prevailing wage services that are being provided to the University which do not meet the Small Project Exemption.
Small Project Exemption
Contractors who work exclusively on small public works projects are not required to register as a public works contractor or file electronic certified payroll reports for those projects.
However, prevailing wages must still be paid on projects with small project exemption, and contractors are still required to maintain certified payroll records on a continuous basis, and provide them to the Labor Commissioner’s Office upon request.
Additionally, UCSC is not required to submit the notice of contract award through DIR’s PWC-100 system on projects that fall within the small project exemption. The small project exemption applies for all public works projects that do not exceed:
- $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair
- $15,000 for maintenance
DIR has extensive information regarding public works requirements on its Public Works website, including instructions for contractors on how to register.
Supplier Guidance
The following supplier guidance is provided for efficiently contracting for University Public Works Projects, and in compliance with SB 854 Prevailing Wage reform.
- You must be registered with the State Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to bid or perform on non-exempt public work projects
- To determine appropriate prevailing wage rates, check the Director's General Prevailing Wage Determinations list.
- State on all public works and prevailing wage quotes/proposals to the University
- Your CA Contractors License number
- Your DIR Registration Number (If applicable)
- DIR prevailing wage rates are being quoted for this Public Works quote/proposal
- A detailed scope of the work to be performed is provided
- If required, when the University awards a contract, the Procurement Services Buyer will file a DIR PWC-100 form and will include the DIR Project ID number on the Purchase Order
- No contractor or subcontractor work is to start prior to a university purchase order being issued
- The prevailing wage rate must be posted at the jobsite
Additional Assistance
Additional information can be found at The Department of Industrial Relations website. If you have questions regarding the internal procedures for UCSC Procurement Services, as they relate to public works, please contact our office.