Contractors: failure to pay wages: discipline.

Gabriel, joined by a group of coauthors, advances a proposal to authorize the Attorney General to bring civil actions that discipline contractors for wage-related violations that affect their licensing status. The core change introduces a new enforcement pathway wherein the AG may seek court-ordered license discipline—such as suspension, revocation, or denial of an initial or continued license—based on nonpayment of wages, unresolved wage judgments, or violations of court orders or injunctions governing wage payments. The measure envisions coordination with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), with the board's executive officer serving as registrar and having the opportunity to intervene in court proceedings.

Key mechanisms center on a triage of grounds, notice, and procedural interplay. The AG may pursue discipline when a contractor fails to pay workers the full wages owed under state law, has not fulfilled a wage judgment, or violates an injunction or court order regarding wage payments. Before filing, the AG must notify the registrar at least 30 days in advance, although lack of notice does not defeat the action. The CSLB board may intervene in the court proceeding within a 60-day window, and if it does not, intervention can be sought later by the court for good cause; non-intervention is treated as consent to comply with any court order. The court may direct the registrar to suspend, revoke, or deny license actions under terms set by the court, and the resulting license-relief is framed as disciplinary or legal action under the existing CSLB framework, with reinstatement or denial timelines anchored to current provisions. A good-faith mistake in applying a wage rate gives a narrow defense against liability.

Implementation involves a sequence that ties wage enforcement to licensing outcomes while preserving parallel pathways. The AG’s civil action can be pursued notwithstanding other provisions, with the registrar retaining the authority to pursue administrative remedies for related violations not alleged in the AG’s complaint. Court-ordered relief is designed to align with the registrar’s disciplinary history and with the court’s order, and reinstatement timing is generally governed by existing rules, subject to specific adjustments if a license denial is imposed. The bill maintains a stopgap provision for a good-faith wage-rate error, offering a limited safe harbor for inadvertent misapplication of wage rates.

The proposed framework situates wage compliance within the licensing regime, creating a direct link between wage enforcement and contractor licensure while preserving the CSLB’s existing disciplinary apparatus and independent avenues of enforcement. It affects workers by providing a potential mechanism to address nonpayment through licensing consequences, and it affects contractors, the registrar, and the board by introducing a civil-action pathway that may intersect with administrative proceedings and court orders. Fiscal and implementation considerations point to interagency coordination and potential changes in workflow, with clarifications needed around definitions of “full wages,” how wage judgments interact with ongoing enforcement, and the boundaries of the board’s intervention authority. In a broader policy context, the measure aligns wage-law compliance with licensing oversight within an established regulatory framework, inviting careful attention to due process, overlapping authorities, and the timely translation of court orders into licensing actions.