Labor Requirements for Government Construction Projects

For public projects and energy sector public works projects, current law requires that any contractor or subcontractor that will perform mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work on the project participate in an apprenticeship program that:

• Is registered with either the United States department of labor or a state apprenticeship agency recognized by the United States department of labor and that has a proven record of graduating apprentices for at least 3 of the past 5 years (registered apprenticeship program); and
• Satisfies specified graduation requirements (registered apprenticeship program that satisfies specified graduation requirements).

Currently, for energy sector public works projects, these requirements also apply to a contractor or subcontractor that employs construction laborers on the project. In addition, for energy sector public works projects, current law requires that all other contractors or subcontractors participate in a registered apprenticeship program.

Apprenticeship utilization requirements. The bill aligns the apprenticeship utilization requirements for public projects and energy sector public works projects and specifies that for both types of projects:

• Any contractor or subcontractor that will perform mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work or employ construction laborers on the project is required to participate in a registered apprenticeship program that satisfies specified graduation requirements; and
• Any other contractor or subcontractor that will perform work on the project is required to demonstrate a minimal training requirement by participating in a registered apprenticeship program.

The bill also aligns current statutory provisions for public projects and energy sector public works projects in connection with the apprenticeship utilization requirements, including provisions that:

• Require the lead contractor for a project to identify all contractors and subcontractors that will perform work on the project;
• Require the lead contractor for a project to certify that all contractors and subcontractors that perform work on the project satisfy the applicable apprenticeship utilization requirements;
• Require the contract for a project to include the apprenticeship utilization requirements;
• Require the lead contractor for a project to provide documentation to prove compliance with the apprenticeship utilization requirements;
• Allow waivers of the apprenticeship utilization requirements under specified circumstances; and
• Allow an apprenticeship program that does not satisfy the criteria specified in the bill to petition the department of labor and employment for conditional approval for the purposes of the bill.

Project labor agreements for public projects. The bill authorizes an agency of government to incorporate a project labor agreement requirement for a public project if the project labor agreement will promote successful project delivery by securing a skilled labor force for the project and if it will promote cost-efficiency, safety, quality, and timely completion of the project. If all construction work on the public project is covered by a project labor agreement, the apprenticeship utilization requirements specified in the bill and the current statutory prevailing wage requirements for a public project do not apply to the project. The provisions in the bill regarding project labor agreements for public projects are parallel to the current statutory provisions regarding project labor agreements for energy sector public works projects. County opt in to state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements. The bill allows a county to opt in to the state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements. A county that intends to opt in to such requirements may request, through a process specified in the bill, that the department of personnel collaborate with the county regarding the implementation, application, and enforcement of the state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements. The bill allows the department of personnel or other agencies of government and a county that opts in to the state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to address the rights and obligations of the parties in connection with the implementation, administration, and enforcement of such requirements.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)