Los Angeles Unified School District v. Trustees of the Southern California IBEW-NECA Pension Plan

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD or the District) sought a judicial declaration that Labor Code section 1776, subdivision (e) prohibited it from producing personal employee information contained in third party certified payroll records. After holding a bench trial, the court ruled in favor of respondent. Appellant now appeals, arguing that it has an absolute privilege to withhold the information at issue. We disagree and conclude that the information is only subject to a conditional privilege.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The LAUSD Project Stabilization Agreement and California’s Certified Payroll Record Requirements

1. The LAUSD Project Stabilization Agreement

The LAUSD and numerous unions are signatories to the “Project Stabilization Agreement” (PSA), which is a construction labor agreement that is intended to promote the timely completion of LAUSD public works projects. The agreement is binding on contractors who enter into construction contracts with the LAUSD and mandates that they pay their laborers the prevailing wage rate set by the Department of Industrial Relations. In addition, contractors are required to…