Duncan

Plaintiff Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local 290 (Local 290) petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate seeking to vacate a decision by John Rea, the then Acting Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (collectively, the department), that, renovation performed by real party in interest Cruz Plumbing, Inc. (Cruz), of a building owned by real party in interest Kramer Properties, Inc. (Kramer), and leased in part to Humboldt County (the county) was not a public works project under California’s prevailing wage law (Lab. Code, § 1720 et seq.). The court granted relief, finding that the project qualifies as public work under section 1720.2. The court also awarded Local 290 attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The department appeals, challenging both the issuance of the writ and the award of attorney fees. We shall affirm the judgment in its entirety.

Factual and Procedural Background

The facts are undisputed. In April 2000, Kramer purchased a professional building at 507 F Street in Eureka, California. On January 14, 2003, Kramer leased to the county 25,595 square feet of office space, or 63 percent of the total assignable square…