Public Works practice

All 6 free public works questions

1. Prevailing wages need not be paid on a public works project whose total cost is no more than:

   • A $1,000 Correct
   • B $15,000 $15,000 is the maintenance figure in the registration exemption in s. 1725.5(f) and in the labor compliance program election in s. 1771.5(a); it does not appear in s. 1771.
   • C $25,000 $25,000 is the construction figure in the same registration exemption in s. 1725.5(f), not the prevailing wage threshold.
   • D $30,000 $30,000 is the apprenticeship threshold in s. 1777.5(o), which governs apprentice ratios and not the wage duty.

   $1,000: prevailing wages are owed on every public works project except one of $1,000 or less (Lab. Code s. 1771). A $15,000 or $25,000 project is past that line and owes them.

   Lab. Code s. 1771

2. Besides a valid contractor license, a contractor may bid on or perform public work only with:

   • A Current Department of Industrial Relations registration Correct
   • B An approved labor compliance program A labor compliance program under s. 1771.5 is elected by the awarding body, not held by a contractor, and it qualifies nobody to bid.
   • C A wage determination in its name Under s. 1773 the Director of Industrial Relations determines the rates and the awarding body obtains them; no determination issues in a contractor's name.
   • D A Labor Commissioner exemption certificate The Labor Commissioner issues no certificate of exemption from registration; the only relief is the project size exemption in s. 1725.5(f).

   Current Department of Industrial Relations registration, because a contractor must be currently registered to bid, be listed in a bid or perform public work (Lab. Code s. 1771.1(a)). A labor compliance program belongs to the awarding body, not the contractor.

   Lab. Code s. 1771.1(a)

3. The body awarding a public works contract obtains the prevailing wage rate for each craft from whom?

   • A The Labor Commissioner The Labor Commissioner enforces the prevailing wage duty; the section names the Director of Industrial Relations as the source of the rate.
   • B The Director of Industrial Relations Correct
   • C The Division of Apprenticeship Standards The Division of Apprenticeship Standards administers apprenticeship; s. 1773 names the Director of Industrial Relations as the source of the rate.
   • D The Industrial Welfare Commission The Industrial Welfare Commission issues wage orders; the rate comes from the Director of Industrial Relations under s. 1773.

   The awarding body must obtain the rate for each craft from the Director of Industrial Relations, for the locality where the work is to be done (Lab. Code s. 1773). The Labor Commissioner enforces the wage duty and is not the source of the rate.

   Lab. Code s. 1773

4. A direct contractor awarded a public works contract must give an approved payment bond before starting work when the expenditure exceeds what amount?

   • A $1,000 $1,000 is the prevailing wage project threshold in Labor Code s. 1771, not the bond threshold; s. 9550 names twenty-five thousand dollars.
   • B $15,000 $15,000 is the maintenance and repair figure used elsewhere in the Labor Code; s. 9550 states an expenditure in excess of $25,000.
   • C $25,000 Correct
   • D $100,000 $100,000 appears nowhere in s. 9550, which fixes the trigger at an expenditure in excess of $25,000.

   $25,000: a direct contractor awarded a public works contract above that amount gives an approved payment bond before work starts (Civ. Code s. 9550(a)). A $15,000 contract is under that line and needs no payment bond under this rule.

   Civ. Code s. 9550(a)

5. On a public works contract, who must pay the specified prevailing rates to workers on the job?

   • A The awarded contractor alone The section names the awarded contractor and any subcontractor under it, so the duty is not the prime's alone.
   • B The awarded contractor and every subcontractor Correct
   • C The awarding body, through the contractor The awarding body states the rates in its call for bids; s. 1774 places the payment duty on the contractor and its subcontractors.
   • D Only subcontractors employing covered trade workers The section reaches all workers employed in executing the contract, so the prime owes the rate as well.

   The awarded contractor and every subcontractor under it must pay not less than the specified prevailing rates to all workers employed on the contract (Lab. Code s. 1774). The duty is not the prime's alone; it runs down to every subcontractor.

   Lab. Code s. 1774

6. On a routine $1,200,000 city street paving contract, the most retention the city may withhold in total is:

   • A $6,000 This is half of one percent of the price, a slipped decimal point and not the 5 percent ceiling.
   • B $30,000 A city may hold less than the cap, but this is half of the 5 percent ceiling and the question asks for the most it may hold.
   • C $60,000 Correct
   • D $120,000 This is 10 percent of the price, double the ceiling; total retention may not exceed 5 percent of the contract price.

   The city may withhold no more than $60,000 in total, because Public Contract Code section 7201(b)(1) caps total retention on a public works contract at 5 percent of the contract price, and 5 percent of $1,200,000 is $60,000. A higher figure needs a finding before the bid that the project is substantially complex, which a routine paving job does not have.

   Pub. Contract Code s. 7201(b)(1)