By the RJ Commercial Flooring Team, 50 years installing institutional flooring across Northern California.
Every California public works flooring project of more than $1,000 must pay prevailing wage, and every project above the small project exemption also requires DIR contractor registration and electronic certified payroll reporting. Registration costs $400 for one fiscal year, and each contractor and subcontractor on the job needs it: an unregistered contractor is ineligible to bid or work. The wage itself is set by the Department of Industrial Relations for the type of work and the project location, with employer payments on top of the basic hourly rate. Certified payroll goes to the Labor Commissioner at least monthly, and contracts of $30,000 or more add apprenticeship obligations. None of this is optional, and all of it belongs in the bid before any flooring is ordered. RJ Commercial Flooring has installed flooring for public agencies, schools and government facilities across Northern and Central California for 50 years. Call (209) 408-0198 to talk through a public project.
Under California law, prevailing wages must be paid to all workers on a public works project of more than $1,000. For a flooring contractor, that captures almost all work paid for by a school district, city, county, special district or state agency, from one classroom to a full building. The full legal definition of public works sits in Labor Code section 1720.
A second threshold sits above the first. DIR's small project exemption covers projects of $25,000 or less for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair, and $15,000 or less for maintenance. Those projects do not require contractor registration, electronic certified payroll reporting or a project notice. The exemption does not remove the wage itself, and contractors must still maintain certified payroll records on a continuous basis and provide them to the Labor Commissioner on request. DIR's guidance also states that a job cannot be parceled into smaller pieces to avoid a threshold.
Before a contractor bids on or works on a covered public works project, it must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations. DIR states that contractors who are required to register but fail to do so are ineligible to bid or work on a public works contract. Registration runs by fiscal year, July 1 to June 30, and costs $400 for one year, $800 for two or $1,200 for three.
To qualify, a contractor must carry workers' compensation coverage for its employees, hold a Contractors State License Board licence where the trade requires one, owe no delinquent unpaid wage or penalty assessments, and not be under federal or state debarment. It must also use only subcontractors who are registered public works contractors. On a flooring job that brings in a separate firm for moisture mitigation or surface preparation, that firm needs its own current registration before it is listed in the bid. Because a lapsed registration makes a contractor ineligible, renewal dates belong on the same calendar as bid dates.
All workers on a public works project must be paid the prevailing wage determined by the Director of Industrial Relations according to the type of work and the location of the project, and the rates are usually based on collective bargaining agreements. DIR issues general prevailing wage determinations twice a year, on February 22 and August 22, and each takes effect 10 days after its issue date. Determinations are organized statewide, by Northern and Southern California region and by county, so the same flooring crew can carry different rates on two jobs in two counties.
Each determination lists a basic hourly rate plus separate employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation and holiday, and training, along with overtime rates. DIR's guidance states that hours beyond eight in a day or 40 in a week are paid at not less than one and a half times the basic rate. Determinations marked with a single asterisk that are in effect on the date the project is advertised for bids remain in effect for the life of the project, so the estimator should read the determination as of the advertisement date.
| Requirement | When it applies | What the contractor does |
|---|---|---|
| Prevailing wage | Public works projects of more than $1,000 | Pay at least the DIR rate for the type of work and county, including employer payments and overtime |
| DIR registration | Projects above $25,000 (construction, installation, repair) or $15,000 (maintenance) | Register for $400 per fiscal year and list only registered subcontractors |
| Certified payroll | Above the small project exemption; records kept on all covered projects | Submit records to the Labor Commissioner at least monthly through DIR's online system |
| Apprenticeship | Contracts of $30,000 or more, unless the craft does not require apprentices | File the DAS 140, request apprentices on the DAS 142, meet the 1:5 hour ratio, pay training contributions |
| Enforcement | Any covered project | Violations bring restitution, penalties and debarment of up to three years |
On projects above the small project exemption, each contractor and subcontractor submits certified payroll records to the Labor Commissioner through DIR's online system. Labor Code section 1771.4 requires submission at least monthly, or more often if the contract with the awarding body says so, and defines monthly as at least once every 30 days while work is being performed and within 30 days after the final day of work. DIR's certified payroll guidance calls weekly submission, or submission at the end of each payroll period, the best practice.
A certified payroll record shows who worked, in which classification, for how many hours and at what pay, and it is the evidence that the prevailing wage was paid. Clean records depend on assigning each worker's hours to the correct classification from the first day. It is administrative work that should be staffed and priced in the bid, not reconstructed after the job closes.
DIR states that all public works contracts valued at $30,000 or more carry an obligation to hire apprentices, unless the craft does not require them, as shown in the prevailing wage determination. The contractor submits contract award information for each craft on the DAS 140 form, requests apprentices from the applicable apprenticeship committee on the DAS 142 form at least three business days before they are needed, and employs one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work.
Training fund contributions, in the amount set in the prevailing wage rate, are paid either to the applicable apprenticeship committee or to the California Apprenticeship Council. The Division of Apprenticeship Standards may grant exemptions. For a flooring estimate, apprentice hours and training contributions belong in the labor build-up.
Prevailing wage makes labor cost predictable, because every bidder faces the same wage floor, so the job is won on productivity, planning and reliability. A sound public flooring bid prices labor from the correct determination for the county, adds employer payments and realistic overtime, budgets office time for certified payroll and apprentice requests, and confirms that every listed subcontractor is registered.
Getting it wrong is expensive. DIR's enforcement page lists the consequences: restitution of wages owed plus interest and liquidated damages, monetary penalties, debarment of up to three years and reimbursement of DIR's investigation costs. For an agency, that is a reason to check a contractor's registration and payroll practices before award. For a contractor, it is a reason to treat compliance as part of running the job.
RJ Commercial Flooring has installed flooring for public agencies, schools and government facilities across Northern and Central California for 50 years. Talk to us about scope, schedule and labor on your next project.
Talk to RJ Commercial FlooringPrevailing wage applies to public works projects of more than $1,000. Projects of $25,000 or less for installation or repair, or $15,000 or less for maintenance, are exempt from DIR registration and electronic certified payroll reporting, but the wage requirement and payroll record-keeping still apply.
Registration costs $400 for one fiscal year, $800 for two or $1,200 for three, and each fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered project must be registered before it can bid or work on the job.
Certified payroll records go to the Labor Commissioner through DIR's online system at least monthly, or more often if the contract requires it. DIR describes weekly submission, or submission at the end of each payroll period, as the best practice.
The Labor Commissioner can require restitution of wages owed with interest and liquidated damages, impose monetary penalties, recover investigation costs and debar a contractor for up to three years. That is why registration, correct rates and timely payroll filing are built into the job from the bid stage.
RJ Commercial Flooring installs for schools, healthcare, government, senior living, colleges and religious facilities across Northern California. See our government flooring work, read our guide to flooring that performs in government and public buildings, or learn about our 50-year track record.