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Bobo Failing on Public Projects

According to public records obtained by Construction Wage Watch, since 2024 Bobo Construction, Inc. (“Bobo Construction”) and their subcontractors have been sued for hundreds of thousands in unpaid wages / penalties and issued Civil Wage and Penalty Assessments (“CWPA”) for which Bobo was jointly and severally liable, as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”), Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
  •  In October 2021, the DIR issued a CWPA against Bobo Construction and co-defendant Calidad Plumbing Inc. The CWPA became a judgment in Sacramento Superior Court in August 2024. The judgment included $12,000 in penalties for failing to pay prevailing wages and proper apprentice wage rates, in violation of Labor Code Section 1777.5.

  • In November 2021, a CWPA was issued against Bobo Construction and sub-contractor Ronald Owen Sherwood dba Sunset Painting for violations that occurred on a project in San Joaquin County (STK-CV-LEJ-2021-0012045). Among other things, Bobo Construction was found to be liable under Labor Codes sections 1775 and 1813, pertaining to the payment of prevailing wages and overtime pay. The combined wages and penalties due from Bobo Construction totaled $14,331.03, including $3,691.23 in wages; $4,105.00 pursuant to Labor Codes sections 1775 and 1813; $1,520 pursuant to Labor Code section 1777.7; $3,961.23 for liquidated damages; $953.57 for interest; and $370.00 for filing fees. In March 2022, the judgement was vacated, after the parties reached a settlement.

  • In April 2013, the DIR obtained a settlement from Bobo Construction for a CWPA for $225,000 in wages and penalties.  The CWPA was filed because Joseph Brothers, Inc, a San Leandro-based subcontractor Bobo Construction hired, failed to pay prevailing wages to workers on a project in Contra Costa County, and Bobo was jointly liable.

Bobo Construction as a general or prime contractor, is responsible for ensuring all workers - theirs and those of their subcontractors – are paid prevailing wages. As then DIR Director John C. Duncan stated in 2010, “Prime contractors cannot plead ignorance when their subcontractors fail to follow California's labor law. . . . These requirements are designed to ensure that public money is being spent properly.”1

1Department of Industrial Relations, Press Release, “CA Labor Commissioner Issues $1.5 Million in Penalties to Davis Contractor,” 06/10/2010, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ca-labor-commissioner-issues-15-million-in-penalties-to-davis-contractor-96074769.html, Accessed 01/08/2025.