Governor Brown Signs Bill Requiring Contractors to Pay Apprentices for Pre-Employment Processes

Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law AB 1926, which amends Labor Code section 1777.5 to require contractors who request the dispatch of an apprentice to work on a public works project and require the apprentice to “fill out an application or undergo testing, training, an examination, or other preemployment process as a condition of employment” to pay the apprentice for the time spent on that activity, including travel to and from the activity, at the apprentice’s applicable prevailing wage rate.

An apprentice does not have to be paid for time spent on preemployment activities if the apprentice is required to take, and fails, a preemployment drug or alcohol test. The bill provides an exemption for contrary collective bargaining agreement provisions and takes effect January 1, 2017.