Section 1776.
Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 1776.
in effect(a)
Each contractor and subcontractor shall keep accurate payroll records, showing the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and week, and the actual per diem wages paid to each journeyman, apprentice, worker, or other employee employed by the contractor or subcontractor in connection with the public work. Each payroll record shall contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made under penalty of perjury, stating both of the following:
(1)
The information contained in the payroll record is true and correct.
(2)
The employer has complied with
the requirements of Sections 1771, 1811, and 1815 for any work performed by that person’s employees on the public works project.
(b)
The payroll records enumerated under subdivision (a) shall be certified and shall be available for inspection at all reasonable hours at the principal office of the contractor on the following basis:
(1)
A certified copy of an employee’s payroll record shall be made available for inspection or furnished to the employee or the employee’s authorized representative on request.
(2)
A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in subdivision (a) shall be made available for inspection or furnished upon request to a representative of the body awarding the contract and the Division
of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations.
(3)
A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in subdivision (a) shall be made available upon request by the public for inspection or for copies thereof. However, a request by the public shall be made through either the body awarding the contract or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. If the request is made through the awarding body and the body is not in possession of the certified payroll records, the awarding body shall obtain those records from the relevant contractor and make them available to the requesting entity. If the requested payroll records have not been provided
pursuant to paragraph (2), the requesting party shall, prior to being provided the records, reimburse the costs of preparation by the contractor, subcontractors, and the entity through which the request was made. The public may not be given access to the records at the principal office of the contractor.
(4)
If an awarding body seeks to obtain payroll records pursuant to paragraph (3), the contractor shall have 10 days to comply following receipt of a written notice requesting the records described in subdivision (a). If the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply within the 10-day period, the awarding body shall notify the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement who may
request penalties be withheld from progress payments then due as described in subdivision (h).
(c)
Unless required to be furnished directly to the Labor Commissioner in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 1771.4, the certified payroll records shall be on forms provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or shall contain the same information as the forms provided by the division. The payroll records may consist of printouts of payroll data that are maintained as computer records, if the printouts
contain the same information as the forms provided by the division and the printouts are verified in the manner specified in subdivision (a).
(d)
A contractor or subcontractor shall file a certified copy of the records enumerated in subdivision (a) with the entity that requested the records within 10 days after receipt of a written request.
(e)
(1)
Except as provided in subdivision (f), any copy of records made available for inspection as copies and furnished upon request to the public or any public agency by the awarding body or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement shall be marked or obliterated to prevent disclosure of an individual’s name, address, and social security number. The name and address of the contractor awarded the
contract or the subcontractor performing the contract shall not be marked or obliterated. Any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund (29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c)(5)) that requests the records for the purposes of allocating contributions to participants shall be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual’s full social security number, but shall provide the last four digits of the social security number. Any copy of records made available for inspection by, or furnished to, a joint labor-management committee established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) shall be marked or obliterated only to prevent disclosure of an individual’s social security number.
(2)
Copies of electronic certified payroll records shall
not satisfy payroll records requests made by Taft-Hartley trust funds and joint labor-management committees. Any copy of records requested by, and made available for inspection by or furnished to, a Taft-Hartley trust fund or joint labor-management committee shall be on forms provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or shall contain the same information as the forms provided by the division.
(f)
(1)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, agencies that are included in the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy established pursuant to Section 329 of the Unemployment Insurance Code and other law enforcement agencies investigating violations of law shall, upon request, be provided nonredacted copies of certified payroll records. Any copies of records or certified payroll made
available for inspection and furnished upon request to the public by an agency included in the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy or to a law enforcement agency investigating a violation of law shall be marked or redacted to prevent disclosure of an individual’s name, address, and social security number.
(2)
An employer shall not be liable for damages in a civil action for any reasonable act or omission taken in good faith in compliance with this subdivision.
(g)
The contractor shall inform the body awarding the contract of the location of the records enumerated under subdivision (a), including the street address, city, and county, and shall, within five working days, provide a notice of a change of location and address.
(h)
The contractor or subcontractor has 10 days in which to comply subsequent to receipt of a written notice requesting the records enumerated in subdivision (a). In the event that the contractor or subcontractor fails to comply within the 10-day period, the contractor or subcontractor shall, as a penalty to the state or political subdivision on whose behalf the contract is made or awarded, forfeit one hundred dollars ($100) for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker, until strict compliance is effectuated. Upon the request of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, these penalties shall be withheld from progress payments then due. A contractor is not subject to a penalty assessment pursuant to this section due to the failure of a subcontractor to comply with this section.
(i)
The body awarding the contract
shall cause to be inserted in the contract stipulations to effectuate this section.
(j)
The director shall adopt rules consistent with the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title 1.8 (commencing with Section 1798) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) governing the release of these records, including the establishment of reasonable fees to be charged for reproducing copies of records required by this section.
References
referencesCal. Unemployment Insurance Code - UIC § 329.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 7920.000.
referencesCal. Civil Code - CIV § 1798.
referencesCal. Labor Code - LAB § 1771.
referencesCal. Labor Code - LAB § 1771.4.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026