Employing Apprentices
What is a registered apprentice?
An apprentice is someone who has signed an agreement with an employer, an approved apprenticeship program or program sponsor, and whose agreement is registered with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). Only an approved apprenticeship program can provide a contractor with a registered apprentice on public works projects.
How do I know if an individual is a registered apprentice?
You can check in our interactive database. If that does not yield results, you can contact a DAS office for assistance in searching the database.
Do programs that provide apprentices for public works projects provide workers compensation benefits for the apprentice they send out to jobs or is the responsibility of the contractor and/or subcontractor?
No. This responsibility lies with the contractor and/or subcontractor (aka The Employer).
How can I find the names of the applicable approved apprenticeship programs/committees?
Two suggestions:
– Visit our interactive website
– Contact the DAS District office whose assigned geographic areas of responsibility cover the county/ies in which the public works project is located.
As a contractor who has been awarded a public works contract, and has my own employees, am I still required to hire registered apprentices?
Yes.
Important Notice: see changes in Code of Regulations section 230.1, regarding the employment of apprentices on Public Works
I am a non-union contractor. Am I required to hire an apprentice?
Yes, you must request dispatch from all approved programs in the geographic area of the project.
Can I employ my friend, family, or my own employee who is still beginning to learn a particular trade, as an apprentice?
No. The law requires that you employ only apprentices who are registered with an approved program. However, if your friend or your employee is a registered apprentice, and has been dispatched to you by an approved apprenticeship program, yes you can.
What happens if I employed my friend who is not a registered apprentice and I paid him the journeyman rate?
You may employ your friend and pay him journey wages but this does not affect change to fulfill the apprenticeship requirements.
I requested an apprentice from an approved program and was asked to sign a document saying I would send the program my training fund contributions. Am I required to sign such a document?
No. You are not required to sign any additional documents, such as a firm agree to train (DAS 7), or agree to any other conditions set forth by the program. If the program does not want to dispatch apprentices unconditionally, and you have contacted all the appropriate programs in the geographic area then you have met your obligation under the law.
We are on a project that requires us to do work off and on for several months. How many times during a project must I request apprentices?
Contractors must request apprentices from all approved programs in the county where the work is being performed but this only needs to be done once during the life of the project.
What are the benefits and advantages to hiring a registered apprentice?
The benefits of hiring an apprentice registered in a state approved program are:
– Lower pay rate than the journeyman pay rate.
– Elimination of recruitment programs for workers who are already trained.
– Creates a diversified and flexible workforce and larger pool of employees with specific skills.
– Increases productivity; employees in a structured training program are motivated to achieve.
Training Fund Contributions
What if a non-participating or non-signatory contractor or a contractor who is not approved to train apprentices does not make the training fund contributions to the applicable approved apprenticeship program, can the contractor send instead the contributions to the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC)?
Yes. Contractors who do not contribute to an approved apprenticeship program should send their payments with a CAC2 form and at must submit their contributions to the following address:
DIR – California Apprenticeship Council (CAC)
P.O. Box 511283
Los Angeles, CA 90051-7838
What if I need to overnight my training fund payment, is there a physical address?
Overnight payments should be sent to:
California Apprenticeship Council (CAC)
1515 Clay Street, Suite 301
Oakland, CA 94612
How can I find out if a training fund contribution has been paid by a contractor?
If the contractor has paid the training fund contribution to the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC) information of payments received by the CAC can be found in our interactive database.
If a contractor has paid the training fund to an approved apprenticeship program, it will not be reflected on our website. You must ask the contractor for proof of payment to the program’s trust fund.
Where can a contractor go to obtain journeyman prevailing wage rates and training fund amounts due?
Training Fund amounts are listed on the same Prevailing Wage Determinations contractors use to calculate the correct prevailing wage to pay their workers for a specific project. Contractors can call the Director’s office of Policy, Research and Legislation (OPRL) at (415) 703-4774 or visit their website to obtain Training Fund Contribution Rates for journeymen and apprentices. Training Contributions must be paid for every hour worked by every journeyman and apprentice working in an apprenticeable craft (including overtime). Training Funds cannot be paid to the workers unless it is a non-apprenticeable craft.
I am a contractor and I paid my employees the training fund contribution instead of the applicable program. Am I still required to pay into a training fund?
Yes and you are not allowed to recover the erroneous amounts paid to the employee.
Can I wait until the end of the project to pay my training funds?
No! Training funds are due & payable by the 15th of the month after the month the work was performed.
If the prime/general contract for the public works project is under $30,000 am I still obligated to pay training fund contributions?
Yes. Training Funds are part of the prevailing wage package and considered part of the employer contribution. If the project is exempt the training fund is paid to the employee.
