Welcome to our newsletter! You will find important updates and industry related news, along with upcoming speaking events and educational opportunities. Thank you for your interest in CCMI.
Sincerely,
Deborah Wilder CCMI President
WHATS NEW?
Coverage Determinations and DIR Decisions can Shed Light on "Covered Work"
California defines "covered work" for the purpose of prevailing wage extremely broadly. This can also include maintenance work. Many times an agency has a company come in and perform routine maintenance work and they are surprised to learn that the work requires the payment of prevailing wages. Many times agencies and contractor will ask "Where is that written?". Many of these answers are not found in the Labor Code or even in the Regulations. Instead, they are published on the DIR's website under two separate sections either as a Coverage Determination or as part of an Administrative Decision.
Coverage determinations can be found at:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/PWDecision.asp.
Coverage determinations are issued by the DIR Director relating to work performed on specific projects and whether the work is "covered". Typically coverage determinations are generated at the request of an agency or a contractor during the course of a specific project. For example: 1) The routine maintenance of exit signs and fire alarms systems is covered by prevailing wage; 2) The cleaning of HVAC systems is covered by prevailing wages; 3) The changing of light bulbs (from standard to LED) is covered by prevailing wages. Both agencies and contractors would be well advised to review the coverage decisions posted on the DIR website (going back to 2002).
Administrative Decisions are found on the DIR's website under Enforcement Decisions
http://www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/PrevWageEncDecision.htm. These are when a formal Civil Wage and Penalty Assessment has been issued against a contractor and the contractor Requests Review of the matter. The matter goes to a formal hearing and a written decision discusses and upholds or rejects the DIR's initial charge of underpayment of prevailing wages and the imposition of penalties.
I am confused over which form I use for a conformance. Someone told me there are two different forms?
ANSWER:
There are two different conformance forms. The SF 1444 is the standard conformance request for Davis Bacon projects. It has to be signed by the requesting parties (subcontractor and contractor), have an employee signature on it and finally a signature from the awarding agency. These are sent electronically to Washington DC and you typically hear back within 30 days. If however, you are working on a Housing project, there is a different conformance form. This form is sent to the local HUD office overseeing the project and does not require multiple signatures. The HUD office reviews it and sends it onto the DOL for confirmation. This process typically takes a little longer than 30 days. You may need to remind the HUD agency after 30 days that the conformance request is still pending.
CCMI is not just another firm....
We are not merely a "consulting" firm, but rather a team of individuals who understand the needs of the Public Entity and contractors to "get the project done." Our staff includes retired contractors, auditors, attorneys and industry veterans.
