Oxbow Carbon & Minerals, LLC v. Department of Industrial Relations
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Boren, J.
Oxbow Carbon & Minerals, LLC, appeals from a judgment denying its petition for writ of mandate. The petition for writ of mandate followed an adverse administrative ruling by respondents State of California, Department of Industrial Relations (Department or DIR), and its director, John C. Duncan (Director). The Director found that work performed under two separate contracts constituted “public works” pursuant to Labor Code section 1720 because the work was paid for in part out of public funds, and it was therefore subject to California’s prevailing wage law. 1 The trial court agreed. We affirm.
*542 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Factual Background
The subject of this appeal is a building at Pier G, Pad 14 (Pad 14) in the City of Long Beach, which appellant Oxbow Carbon & Minerals, LLC (Oxbow), uses pursuant to a lease agreement with real party in interest City of Long Beach (Long Beach). Oxbow’s involvement with Pad 14 began after its purchase in 2003 of Applied Industrial Materials Corporation (AIMCOR), a company which, like Oxbow, was in the business of buying and selling petroleum coke, a by-product of the oil refining process.