Question: Does "prevailing wage" apply to purchases made by PTA/ASB versus purchases made by the district?

Response: The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) enforces labor laws relating to contractors and employers in general. The DLSE enforces the employer obligation to:

- Provide Worker's Compensation Insurance for its employees

- Comply with all child labor obligations and restrictions

- Issue deduction statements with the payment of wages

For contractors, the DLSE enforces the contractor's obligations to:

- Have a valid State contractor's license

- Comply with the State's public work statutes and regulations

The most frequent allegation made to the DLSE is that a contractor is not paying workers the correct prevailing wage for the work performed.

California Labor Code section 1771 states, "Except for public works projects of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for work of a similar character in the locality in which the public work is performed, and not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for holiday and overtime work fixed as provided in this chapter, shall be paid to all workers employed on public works. This section is applicable only to work performed under contract, and is not applicable to work carried out by a public agency with its own forces. This section is applicable to contracts let for maintenance work.

For expenditures made through the ASB, the answer to your question would be yes as the ASB is part of the school district and as such it is required to ensure that any contractor working on projects, that fall within the limits noted above, are paying prevailing wages for the work, both for installation and electrical services.  Typically there will be language within the scope of work to convey this responsibility to the vendor/contractor.

All equipment purchased for the student body organization with student body funds should be approved by the district's governing board or a designee to ensure that it is in compliance with district standards, board policy and/or administrative regulations focusing on expenditures, capital purchases and/or purchasing. It is important that these types of purchases are also reviewed by the district purchasing and maintenance departments to ensure that district policy and protocol are considered, including addressing installation, if necessary. We recommend that you discuss this matter with your district business office, who may wish to consult further with legal counsel to ensure that all necessary requirements have been met when contracting out services.

Parent club organizations operate outside the school district and may not be subject to all the same requirements.

4/30/10