Brown just signed today, SB 776 by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, which will eliminate independent monitoring and enforcement of prevailing wage laws.

Not surprisingly, the bill was written and sponsored by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, a powerful labor union labor whose members are often on the receiving end of fines and penalties for back wages.

The targeted independent compliance group, the California Construction Compliance Group, is a  non-profit organization that promotes free, open and vigorous competition in the building and construction industry. On its website, the CCCG explains that it does this “through monitoring, enforcing and evaluating changes to prevailing wage and apprenticeship laws in an effort to promote equal opportunity among prevailing wage contractors.” Until today, the CCCG has done this through independent compliance audits and follow up enforcement of the prevailing wages laws by building contractors.

The audits hold contractors accountable to state labor laws, and ensure workers are paid the appropriate wage for the hours they work, even if this is done through an audit and back wages. CCCG has conducted more than 230 company audits on a variety of projects across the state including schools, civic centers, parking garages and a myriad of other projects.

“SB 776 is designed to impede efforts to ensure construction workers are paid appropriately and treated fairly with regard to California’s prevailing wage laws,” said Philip Piel, Chairman of the California Construction Compliance Group, in a statement today. “While it is unfortunate that partisan politics favoring special interests would shield cheating contractors in California, we will continue to work within the new guidelines to hold bad employers accountable no matter who they are. SB 776 does not prohibit our organization from fulfilling its mission and we will comply with the new guidelines.”

It is not unexpected that Brown signed SB 776 — he and the bill’s author, Sen. Corbett, are friends of labor unions. Even the “Ellen Corbett for Congress” campaign website reports it is “Computer Generated / Labor Donated.”

“This is a total union overreach and is only being done because we are non-union,” said John Loudon, Executive Director of the CCCG when I spoke with him last week.

The CCCG has recovered more than $400,000 in back wages for more than 130 workers, and has been crucial to eliminating the underground construction economy, where workers can be illegally underpaid, and placed in dangerous jobs by unscrupulous contractors.

“We look forward to working with the State of California, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to identify and combat abuse of California prevailing wage law for the workers that build our roads, schools and other public works projects,” said Piel.

But don’t hold your breath for friendly relations with the DLSE it in union-dominated California — a bill like SB 776 only emboldens the bad actors, and allows the professional bureaucrats in state government to further avoid accountability.

SB 776, authored by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, but written and sponsored by the union labor group State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, appears to be an effort to eliminate monitoring and enforcing prevailing wage laws through independent compliance audits and the enforcement of building contractors.

The targeted independent compliance group, the California Construction Compliance Group, is a  non-profit organization that promotes free, open and vigorous competition in the building and construction industry. On its website, the CCCG explains that it does this “through monitoring, enforcing and evaluating changes to prevailing wage and apprenticeship laws in an effort to promote equal opportunity among prevailing wage contractors.”

Fast tracked since it was introduced February 22, SB 776 already sits on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk awaiting his signature or veto.

SB 776 passed the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee easily. Then the Senate passed Corbett’s bill 24-10, along party lines.

The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee passed SB 776 easily in a 5-2 vote, as did the Assembly Appropriations Committee, 12-5. The Assembly then passed the bill 52-23, also along party lines.

I called Gov. Brown’s office and asked if the governor has a position on SB 776 yet. His office has been quiet on this union-friendly bill.

“The Governor has until August 27^th to act on this bill,” reported Jim Evans, a spokesman for Brown. “We will definitely let you know when he takes action.”

 Targeted attack

“Honest contractors, workers, and taxpayers benefit from the work of the Construction Compliance Group, a labor compliance equalizer,” said John Loudon, executive director of the California Construction Compliance Group.

The bill’s author, Corbett, is a liberal Democrat running for Congress. Some say Corbett needs to take out moderate Democratic incumbent, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Pleasanton, which will require huge union support. Corbett thus far is behind in the money race.

But Corbett is a friend of labor unions. Even her “Ellen Corbett for Congress” campaign website reports it is “Computer Generated / Labor Donated.”

“This is a total union overreach and is only being done because we are non-union,” said Loudon. “We have recovered over $400,000 for workers, most recently over $13,000 from one union glazer-window installer.”