NEWS ITEM

California Supreme Court Grants Review of Prevailing Wage Issue

Court Will Decide Whether State Prevailing Wage Law Protects Construction Workers on Charter City Projects

August 19, 2009 -- The California Supreme Court granted a petition for review today to decide whether California's prevailing wage law applies to contractors on construction projects awarded by charter cities.

The California Supreme Court held in 1932 that the prevailing wage law does not apply to charter city projects. But that decision rests on pre-New Deal precedent about the power of state legislatures to adopt labor standards. The grant of review means that the Court will re-examine the issue. California's 114 charter cites include about half the population of the state and award billions of dollars in construction work each year.

Altshuler Berzon LLP represents the petitioner in the case, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California v. City of Vista, No. S173586.

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