California Assembly Bill AB766 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 766AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Monning  (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member   Bill Berryhill   )  FEBRUARY 17, 2011 An act to  add Section 64.6 to   amend Section 1776 of  the Labor Code, relating to  labor law enforcement   public works  . LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 766, as amended, Monning.  Labor law enforcement.   Public works: payroll records.   Existing law requires each contractor and subcontractor on a public works project to keep payroll records regarding his or her employees, and requires that these records contain information specified by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Existing law requires certain personal identification information, as specified, to be removed when certified payroll records are made available for inspection to the public or to a public agency.   This bill would exempt certified payroll records made available for inspection to an agency included in, and for the purposes of, the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy, or to any law enforcement agency, from the requirement that certain personal identification information be removed.   Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations, led by the Director of Industrial Relations, and charges that agency with the responsibility for enforcing labor standards, occupational safety and health standards, and other provisions of law relating to the welfare of wage earners.   This bill would provide that nothing in the Labor Code shall limit the authority of the Attorney General or the district attorney of any county to prosecute civil or criminal actions for violations of that code, or to enforce the provisions of that code, without specific direction from the director.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 1776 of the   Labor Code   is amended to read:  1776. (a) Each contractor and subcontractor shall keep accurate payroll records, showing the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and week, and the actual per diem wages paid to each journeyman, apprentice, worker, or other employee employed by him or her in connection with the public work. Each payroll record shall contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made under penalty of perjury, stating both of the following: (1) The information contained in the payroll record is true and correct. (2) The employer has complied with the requirements of Sections 1771, 1811, and 1815 for any work performed by his or her employees on the public works project. (b) The payroll records enumerated under subdivision (a) shall be certified and shall be available for inspection at all reasonable hours at the principal office of the contractor on the following basis: (1) A certified copy of an employee's payroll record shall be made available for inspection or furnished to the employee or his or her authorized representative on request. (2) A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in subdivision (a) shall be made available for inspection or furnished upon request to a representative of the body awarding the contract, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards of the Department of Industrial Relations. (3) A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in subdivision (a) shall be made available upon request by the public for inspection or for copies thereof. However, a request by the public shall be made through either the body awarding the contract, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. If the requested payroll records have not been provided pursuant to paragraph (2), the requesting party shall, prior to being provided the records, reimburse the costs of preparation by the contractor, subcontractors, and the entity through which the request was made. The public may not be given access to the records at the principal office of the contractor. (c) The certified payroll records shall be on forms provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or shall contain the same information as the forms provided by the division. The payroll records may consist of printouts of payroll data that are maintained as computer records, if the printouts contain the same information as the forms provided by the division and the printouts are verified in the manner specified in subdivision (a). (d) A contractor or subcontractor shall file a certified copy of the records enumerated in subdivision (a) with the entity that requested the records within 10 days after receipt of a written request. (e)  Any   Except as provided in subdivision (f), any  copy of records made available for inspection as copies and furnished upon request to the public or any public agency by the awarding body, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall be marked or obliterated to prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social security number. The name and address of the contractor awarded the contract or the subcontractor performing the contract shall not be marked or obliterated. Any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) shall be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual's name and social security number. A joint labor management committee may maintain an action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an employer who fails to comply with Section 1774. The court may award restitution to an employee for unpaid wages and may award the joint labor management committee reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in maintaining the action. An action under this subdivision may not be based on the employer's misclassification of the craft of a worker on its certified payroll records. Nothing in this subdivision limits any other available remedies for a violation of this chapter.  (f) Any copy of records made available for inspection as copies and furnished upon request to an agency included in, and for the purposes of, the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy, as established pursuant to Section 329 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, or to a law enforcement agency investigating a violation of law, by the awarding body, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall not be marked or obliterated to prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social security number.   (f)   (g)  The contractor shall inform the body awarding the contract of the location of the records enumerated under subdivision (a), including the street address, city, and county, and shall, within five working days, provide a notice of a change of location and address.  (g)   (h)  The contractor or subcontractor has 10 days in which to comply subsequent to receipt of a written notice requesting the records enumerated in subdivision (a). In the event that the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply within the 10-day period, he or she shall, as a penalty to the state or political subdivision on whose behalf the contract is made or awarded, forfeit twenty-five dollars ($25) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker, until strict compliance is effectuated. Upon the request of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, these penalties shall be withheld from progress payments then due. A contractor is not subject to a penalty assessment pursuant to this section due to the failure of a subcontractor to comply with this section.  (h)   (i)  The body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.  (i)  (j)  The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title 1.8 (commencing with Section 1798) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) governing the release of these records, including the establishment of reasonable fees to be charged for reproducing copies of records required by this section.  SECTION 1.   Section 64.6 is added to the Labor Code, to read: 64.6. Nothing in this code shall limit the authority of the Attorney General or the district attorney of any county, either upon his or her own complaint or the complaint of any person acting for himself or herself or the general public, to prosecute actions, either civil or criminal, for violations of this code, or to enforce the provisions thereof independently and without specific direction from the director.