Ready, Set: Time to Add Ready-Mixed Concrete to “Public Works” Definition

Public works contracts awarded on or after July 1, 2016 will be subject to the more expansive definition of public works added by California Assembly Bill 219 (Daly). For purposes of Article 2 of California’s Labor Code, commencing with Section 1770, the term “public works” will include “the hauling and delivery of ready-mixed concrete to carry out a public works contract, with respect to contracts involving any state agency, including the California State University and the University of California, or any political subdivision of the state.” Those who will be encompassed within the new definition will be required to pay the applicable prevailing wage rate, which will be the rate for the geographic area in which the concrete factory or batching plant is located, and to provide employee payroll and time records, as specified.

While certain business owners likely already suspect that they haul and deliver ready-mixed concrete for public works projects, Assembly Bill 219 defines “hauling and delivery of ready-mixed concrete to carry out a public works contract” to mean “the job duties for a ready mixer driver that are used by the [Director of the Department of Industrial Relations] in determining wage rates pursuant to Section 1773 [of the Labor Code], and includes receiving the concrete at the factory or batching plant and the return trip to the factory or batching plant.” It further defines “ready-mixed concrete” as “concrete that is manufactured in a factory or a batching plant, according to a set recipe, and then delivered in a liquefied state by mixer truck for immediate incorporation into a project.” Care should be taken when bidding for public works projects in California to take into consideration the wage requirements as well and the payroll and recordkeeping requirements.