Prevailing wage requirements apply to nearly every state, county, and city-funded construction contract in Los Angeles. This guide walks through how determinations are set by classification, how often they change, and what happens if a worker is paid below the required rate. If you're bidding on public works for the first time, start here.

Fringe benefits — health, pension, vacation, and training fund contributions — vary by trade and by local. This article breaks down how fringe rates are set, how to reconcile contributions against hours worked, and what a typical trust fund audit actually looks for.

Before a Labor Commissioner or trust fund audit lands on your desk, make sure these documents are current: certified payroll records, fringe benefit statements, DIR registration, employee eligibility documentation, and signed subcontractor agreements. This checklist covers what to gather and where it typically goes missing.

The most common certified payroll errors aren't dramatic — they're small: a missing classification, an unsigned statement of compliance, an apprentice ratio that slipped out of range. This guide covers the mistakes that trigger the most audit flags, and how to catch them before submission.

Contractors and subcontractors bidding on California public works projects must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations before they can be awarded a contract. This article covers who needs to register, how long registration takes, and how to keep it current across multiple active projects.

A compliance audit request usually arrives with a tight deadline. This checklist covers what auditors typically request first — certified payroll history, fringe remittance records, and employee documentation — and how to organize your files so a request doesn't turn into a scramble.