NCECI

March 13, 2010

Welcome

Message from the Director

Welcome to our website. The Northern California Electrical Construction Industry (NCECI), a labor-management cooperative trust, was established in 1998 to assist the state, federal, and local governments with the enforcement of public works, prevailing wage, and Davis-Bacon laws.

In an effort to maintain a “level playing field” for the electrical construction industry NCECI aggressively works to combat the unfair and damaging contracting practices, and we ensure better and more productive standards for wage rates on public construction projects.

NCECI provides valuable assistance to workers, contractors, public agencies, developers, taxpayers, and the general public to promote compliance of public contracts, public works laws, Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage laws. NCECI has established itself as an innovative and progressive leader of compliance enforcement within the electrical construction industry; from bid protest to criminal prosecution, government relations to legislative action and awareness, the NCECI team provides top-quality enforcement for the entire electrical construction industry.

Andre Gardner

What's New at NCECI

NCECI provides crucial evidence to the State and the Alameda County District Attorney to get NBC General Contractors, owner Jailed.

Posted On: Oct 19, 2009 (10:33:50)

Article: Workers accuse public works contractor of shorting pay

OAKLAND -- A general contractor hired by cities around the Bay Area to build things from schools to city halls is being sued by its workers, who claim the company didn't follow the state's prevailing wage law and forced them to sign false timecards.

In a lawsuit filed July 17 in Alameda County Superior Court, NBC General Contractors Corp. is accused of ignoring state labor laws by paying its workers minimum wage rather than a predetermined rate required for public works projects.

In addition, NBC General Contractors is accused of failing to pay its workers overtime, forcing them to sign fake timecards in order to receive paychecks and refusing to provide wage statements when requested by ...

D.A.’s Arrest at Oakland-based

‘NBC General Contractors’, Owner Jailed

Alameda County District Attorney’s office arrested Monica Ung, owner of NBC General Contractors, along with NBC employees Joey Ruan and Tin Wai Wu (Winnie Wu) on 48 felonycounts that included public works wage fraud, grand theft of personal property, forgery and insurance fraud. The construction firm’s illegal activities resulted in an estimated $3.6 million dollars in unpaid wages to 19 construction workers. Losses due to illegally misclassifying workers cost the state an estimated $1,451,735.85.

See Articles:

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17078047.html

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/08/were_sf_public_works_jobs_part.php

http://www.ibew595.org/docs/NBC.pdf

http://ibew.org/articles/09ElectricalWorker/EW1009/03.1009.html

State bars Santa Rosa electrical contractor from public projects for three years

Posted On: Oct 19, 2009 (10:31:30)

SANTA ROSA — State labor regulators are barring Santa Rosa-based S.J. Cimino Electric Inc. from public works projects for three years on allegations that the electrical contractor didn’t fully pay wages and benefits related to three affordable-housing projects in Sonoma and Solano counties. This is said to be the first such action against a Sonoma County contractor in more than a decade.

The decision makes S.J. Cimino ineligible to bid nor work as a subcontractor on public projects, according to state documents. Division of Labor Standards Enforcement Chief Angela Bradstreet signed the debarment on Sept. 2 after an Aug. 4 hearing, according to the documents. The debarment becomes effective Oct. 15.

This case is unique in a lot of ways, according to Pat Wirsing, senior compliance officer for the Northern California Electrical Construction Industry. The group was part of a North Bay Labor Council press conference at the State Building in Santa Rosa this morning to announce the debarment.

See Article:

http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/15831/state-bars-santa-rosa-electrical-contractor-from-public-projects-for-three-years/

State of California Debarred Sonoma County Electrical Contractor

Posted On: Oct 19, 2009 (10:28:12)

S.J. Cimino Electric was ordered to pay $287,183 in back wages and penalties related to subcontracting work on three affordable housing projects in Sonoma and Solano counties.

"Those who bid for public projects had better obey the law and pay prevailing wages," said Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. "It's very important for workers to be paid for the work they do under the laws of the state."

See article:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091018/BUSINESS/910181023/1350?Title=State-watching-wages-of-public-works-projects

CSLB and the Attorney General reached a settlement with American Electric

Posted On: Mar 23, 2009 (19:14:53)

Contractors State License Board Asks Victims of Elaborate Home Repair Scheme to Come Forward

Judge sets aside $1.3 million for restitution after settlement of unfair business practices lawsuit

SACRAMENTO — The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) wants California consumers to come forward if they have been defrauded by certain home service and repair companies in the past four years. A multi-million lawsuit filed in San Diego County by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has been settled and SRVS Charge Inc. (SRVS), the parent business, has been ordered to pay $3 million in penalties and restitution. This is the largest enforcement judgment in CSLB’s 80-year history.

Read article: http://www.cslb.ca.gov/GeneralInformation/Newsroom/PressReleases/PressReleases2009/News20090323.asp

Helix Case

Posted On: Apr 01, 2007 (09:05:04)

A California District Court judge has denied a motion by a nonunion contractor for an injunction against the Public Works Compliance Program of IBEW and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).

Helix Electric asked the court to deny compliance program representatives access to the addresses of its unrepresented employees when they investigate prevailing wage issues.

The company argued that addresses would be used for organizing and harassing employees.

The District Court held that the IBEW/NECA monitoring and enforcement efforts serve the public interest because "the purpose of prevailing wage law is to benefit and protect workers on public works projects."