C33 Public Works 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under California's Little Miller Act, payment bonds on public works projects protect:
- The project owner against contractor default
- Subcontractors and material suppliers who are not paid (Correct answer)
- The contractor against owner non-payment
- The surety company against project losses
Correct answer: Subcontractors and material suppliers who are not paid
Payment bonds under the Little Miller Act (Civil Code Section 9550) protect subcontractors and suppliers who furnish labor or materials to the project.
Question 2: A public works painting contractor wishes to substitute a specified coating product with an equivalent. This requires:
- Only verbal approval from the job superintendent
- A written substitution request approved by the awarding authority or engineer (Correct answer)
- No approval if the product costs less
- Approval only from the prime contractor
Correct answer: A written substitution request approved by the awarding authority or engineer
Product substitutions on public works must be submitted in writing and approved by the awarding authority or engineer of record.
Question 3: Which California law requires that public works contractors and subcontractors be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)?
- Labor Code Section 1720
- Labor Code Section 1725.5 (Correct answer)
- Business and Professions Code Section 7065
- Public Contract Code Section 20104
Correct answer: Labor Code Section 1725.5
Labor Code Section 1725.5 mandates DIR registration for all contractors performing public works in California.
Question 4: On a public works project, a journeyman painter must be paid at least the prevailing journeyman rate for ALL hours worked when:
- They work more than 8 hours in a day
- They perform any journeyman-level tasks during the shift (Correct answer)
- They complete the project early
- The project is federally funded
Correct answer: They perform any journeyman-level tasks during the shift
A worker performing journeyman-level tasks must be paid at the journeyman prevailing wage rate for all hours worked on those tasks.
Question 5: A painting contractor on a public works project uses apprentice painters. What ratio of apprentices to journeymen is typically required by California prevailing wage law?
- 1 apprentice per 1 journeyman
- 1 apprentice per 3 journeymen (Correct answer)
- 1 apprentice per 5 journeymen
- No ratio; any number of apprentices is allowed
Correct answer: 1 apprentice per 3 journeymen
California prevailing wage regulations generally require a ratio of one apprentice for every three journeymen on a public works project.
Question 6: Which entity has the authority to investigate and penalize violations of prevailing wage laws on California public works projects?
- CSLB
- The Labor Commissioner (Correct answer)
- Cal/OSHA
- The Attorney General
Correct answer: The Labor Commissioner
The Labor Commissioner (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement) investigates and enforces prevailing wage violations on public works projects.
Question 7: When a public works painting project has a mandatory pre-bid job walk, a contractor who fails to attend will typically:
- Be allowed to bid but pay a late fee
- Have their bid accepted at a lower priority
- Have their bid deemed non-responsive and rejected (Correct answer)
- Be required to submit a written explanation
Correct answer: Have their bid deemed non-responsive and rejected
If a mandatory pre-bid job walk is specified, contractors who do not attend are usually disqualified and their bids are deemed non-responsive.
C33 Public Works 3
Under California's Little Miller Act, payment bonds on public works projects protect: