Aubry

California State Labor Commissioner Lloyd W. Aubry, Jr., on behalf of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Department of Industrial Relations (Division), appeals from a judgment granting the Painting and Drywall Work Preservation Fund, Inc. (Fund) a peremptory writ of mandate. Division only challenges that portion of the writ which provides: “Upon receipt from [Fund] of a timely complaint supported by prima facie evidence of violation of Labor Code Section[s] 1771 and 1774,[ ] the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Bureau of Field Enforcement shall issue a Verified Claim and Stop Notice to the contractor(s) or subcontractors) against whom the complaint was made.”

Fund is a nonprofit organization comprised of painting and drywall contractors and painters’ unions throughout California. The purpose of the fund is to further the public interest and the interests of its members by investigating both state and federal public works projects and filing complaints with appropriate agencies when investigations reveal possible statutory violations.

On September 26, 1986, Fund filed a petition for writ of mandate alleging in part that Division had abused its…