For contractors & builders
Follow the work from contract and crew classification through timekeeping, breaks, and payroll. Use the linked authorities to check the rule that applies to the project.
Questions to carry into the sources
- Determine whether the project is public work and retrieve the correct craft, locality, and date-specific determination.
- Record required travel, work time, meal periods, and separately compensable piece-rate time.
- Review subcontractor payroll and contract-date obligations before relying on an indemnity or reimbursement clause.
Your reference sequence
Prevailing wage
Covered public works require prevailing wages, including applicable benefit components, based on the work performed and the project’s location.
Direct-contractor liability
A direct contractor can be responsible for a subcontractor’s covered labor debts on private works; the governing statute depends on the contract date.
Travel & commute time
Employer-mandated travel after the first required reporting location is compensable under Wage Order 16, subject to its applicable CBA provision.
Daily overtime
Covered nonexempt employees generally earn overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time after 12 hours in a day.
Meal & rest breaks
Covered employees generally receive a 30-minute meal period on shifts over 5 hours and paid 10-minute rest periods for each 4 hours or major fraction.
Piece-rate pay
Employees paid by the unit must also receive separate compensation for rest and recovery periods and other nonproductive time.
Misclassification
Employee or independent-contractor status follows the applicable legal test; a 1099 or contract label does not establish the result.
CBA exemptions
A qualifying collective-bargaining agreement can alter overtime and construction meal-period rules, but each exemption has its own conditions.