Aubry

Appellant Unions contend the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations of the State of California (Director) committed a prejudicial abuse of discretion when he determined that certain sums deducted from workers’ wages and repaid to employers, as wage rebates, should not be counted in calculating the “actually prevailing” wage rates for specified jobs, under the provisions of Labor Code section 1773 (section 1773) and title 8, California Code of Regulations, section 16000 (regulation 16000).

We find no such abuse of discretion, and affirm the trial court’s order which denied the Unions’ petition for a writ of mandate. The Director acted properly, and well within his lawful discretion, when he determined the sums which workers are required to pay back to employers as wage rebates should not be counted when calculating the true wage rate “actually prevailing” for a given job classification under the provisions of section 1773.

I. Facts and Procedural History

During the period from 1992 to 1994, the Director conducted an investigation of certain alleged wage rebates or “Job Targeting” practices by unions and union contractors. Such job targeting practices were…