The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), governing body for Prevailing Wage, added maintenance, installation, and repair work over $15,000.00 into their definition of “public works” earlier this year. That means that Procurement departments across the State are now required to report public work projects to the DIR for every purchase order in which prevailing wage applies. For UCSB, this means any requisition exceeding $15,000.00 with a supplier that provides “Routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation, protection, and keeping of any publicly owned or operated facility” (CA Code of Regulations 16000) will need to be routed to Procurement for DIR project submission (Labor Code sec. 1773.3). The good news is that the process should only take a few hours longer than usual. However, if the Supplier is not already registered with the DIR, the Supplier will need to register, or the campus will need to find a new supplier for the service.

Common commodities with which Prevailing Wage may apply are listed below; and download our Prevailing Wage Determination & Maintenance vs. Construction matrices.

President Napolitano introduced Fair Work/Fair Wage this Summer of 2015 as a voluntary plan to establish a minimum wage of $15/hr by 2017 for both UC employees and suppliers to the UC. Procurement Services reviews all service-related requisitions we receive to ensure our suppliers can meet the requirement of providing wages at $14/hr in 2016, and then $15 in 2017. This UC requirement does not apply to goods-only purchases, services funded by federal C&G money, or if Prevailing Wage applies. Download our Fair Work Determination Matrix, and visit the UCOP Fair Work/Fair Wage website.
For more on both these topics, call or email Calli Price (x3723).