City of Long Beach v. INDUS. RELATIONS

The Department of Industrial Relations appeals from a judgment granting a petition for writ of mandate filed by the City of Long Beach. The city seeks to overturn the department's determination a construction project financed in part with city funds was subject to the state's prevailing wage law, Labor Code section 1720 et seq.

We conclude when a city contributes its funds to a private non-profit organization for the specific purpose of constructing a facility to be used by the general public the facility is a "public work" within the meaning of Labor Code section 1720 and therefore subject to the state's prevailing wage law.

We further conclude the city's status as a charter city does not exempt the project from the state's prevailing wage law for two independently sufficient reasons: (1) the animal shelter is not a strictly municipal affair and (2) the state's prevailing wage law addresses matters of statewide concern.

We also reject the city's arguments the department is barred by the doctrines of estoppel and laches from making a coverage determination in this case.

In 1998, the City of Long Beach (City) entered into an agreement with the Los Angeles Society…