California Code of Regulations
Title 8 - Industrial Relations
Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations
Chapter 8 - Office of the Director
Subchapter 6 - Prevailing Wage Hearings
Article 1 - General
Section 17208 - Intervention and Participation by Other Interested Persons

(a) The Labor Commissioner may intervene as a matter of right in any review from a Notice of Withholding of Contract Payments, either as the Representative of the Awarding Body or as an interested third Party.

(b) A bonding company and any Surety on a bond that secures the payment of wages covered by the Assessment or Notice of Withholding of Contract Payments shall be permitted to intervene as a matter of right in any pending review filed by the contractor or subcontractor from the Assessment or Withholding of Contract Payments in question; provided that, intervention is sought at or before the first prehearing conference held pursuant to Rule 31 [Section 17231] below and within either 30 days after the bonding company or Surety was served with a copy of the Assessment or Notice of Withholding of Contract Payments or 30 days after the filing of the Request for Review, whichever is later. Thereafter, any request to intervene by such a bonding company or Surety shall be treated as a motion for permissive participation under subpart (d) of this Rule. A bonding company or Surety shall have the burden of proof with respect to any claim that it did not receive notice of the Assessment or Notice of Withholding of Contract Payments until after the filing of the Request for Review.

(c) The employee(s), labor union, or Joint Labor-Management Committee who filed the formal complaint which led the Enforcing Agency to issue the Assessment or Notice of Withholding of Contract payments shall be permitted to intervene in a pending review filed by the contractor or subcontractor from the Assessment or Withholding of Contract Payments in question; provided that, intervention is sought at or before the first prehearing conference held pursuant to Rule 31 [Section 17231] below and there is no good cause to deny the request. Thereafter, any request to intervene by such employee(s), labor union, or Joint Labor-Management Committee shall be treated as a motion for permissive participation as an interested Person under subpart (d) of this Rule.

(d) Any other Person may move to participate as an interested Person in a proceeding in which that Person claims a substantial interest in the issues or underlying controversy and in which that Person's participation is likely to assist and not hinder or protract the hearing and determination of the case by the Hearing Officer and the Director. Interested Persons who are permitted to participate under this Rule shall not be regarded as Parties to the proceeding for any purpose, but may be provided notices and the opportunity to present arguments under such terms as the Hearing Officer deems appropriate.

(e) Rights to intervene or participate as an interested party are only in accordance with this Rule. Intervention or permissive participation under this Rule shall not expand the scope of issues under review nor shall it extend any rights or interests which have been forfeited as a result of an Affected Contractor or Subcontractor's own failure to file a timely Request for Review. The Hearing Officer may impose conditions on an intervener's or other interested Person's participation in the proceeding, including but not limited to those conditions specified in Government Code § 11440.50(c).

(f) No Person shall be required to seek intervention in a review proceeding as a condition for pursuing any other remedy available to that Person for the enforcement of the prevailing wage requirements of Division 2, Part 7, Chapter 1 (starting with section 1720) of the Labor Code.