Natural Resources and Mining Law Blog
By Kerry Shapiro
Last week, the California Supreme Court handed down an important decision on prevailing wage law favorable to industry. On August 16, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Fonseca McElroy Grinding Co., Inc. S253574, answering the question whether prevailing wage must be paid for mobilization work, which involved transporting heavy machinery to and from a public works site under Labor Code section 1772. The Court held that section 1772 does not expand the categories of public work that trigger obligation to pay at least the prevailing wage and that under this theory, prevailing wage did not need to be paid for mobilization work. In so far as there may be some other statutory basis for compensating mobilization and travel time at the prevailing rate, those issues were beyond the scope of the Court’s decision. The Court’s decision is consistent with the positions argued in the case by Fonseca, and by JMBM client California Construction and Industrial Materials Association (“CalCIMA”), which had filed an Amicus Brief in support of Fonseca. Continue reading