CA AB1939

Authorizes contractors to sue the hiring party for increased costs incurred when work is reclassified as a "public work" after the contract is awarded or bid is accepted.

Covers wage differences, penalties, and attorney's fees resulting from Department of Industrial Relations, Labor and Workforce Development Agency, or court decisions classifying work as public work.

Contractor must notify the hiring party and owner/developer within 30 days of receiving notice that work is classified as a public work, using registered mail, certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery.

Exceptions apply if the owner, developer, or hiring party expressly advised the contractor the work would be a public work subject to prevailing wages, or if the contractor caused the reclassification or had actual knowledge the work was a public work.

Does not apply to private residential projects on private property unless built under agreement with a state agency, redevelopment agency, or local public housing authority.