Apprentice to journeyman ratio calculator
California public works contracts in apprenticeable crafts carry an hourly ratio of apprentice work to journeyman work. The statutory floor is 1 hour of apprentice work for every 5 hours of journeyman work, under Labor Code section 1777.5(g). Contracts under $30,000 are out of scope (subdivision (o)), and a knowing violation on a contract that is in scope forfeits up to $100 per day for a first offense and up to $300 per day for a repeat one, under Labor Code section 1777.7. Use the calculator below for your apprentice hours, then the penalty calculator and the craft specific ratio table further down.
The rule
The ratio of work performed by apprentices to journeymen in a craft on a public work may be no higher than the ratio in the apprenticeship standards the contractor is bound by, and, except as the section provides, no lower than the statutory floor, which the section refers to as the 1 to 5 hourly ratio (subdivision (g)). The ratio applies during any day or portion of a day when any journeyman is employed at the jobsite and is computed on the hours worked that day by those journeymen. Hours a journeyman works beyond eight in a day or 40 in a week are not used to calculate the ratio (subdivision (h)). Worked example: 200 straight time journeyman hours in a period require 40 apprentice hours at the statutory floor, 200 divided by 5.
Enter straight time hours only. Overtime beyond eight hours a day or 40 a week is excluded from the ratio by statute. If your program's standards or an exemption certificate set a different ratio, enter that divisor, using the table below to find yours.
Craft specific ratios already in effect
Not every craft uses the 1 to 5 floor. The Division of Apprenticeship Standards has already granted exemption certificates for some crafts and regions under Labor Code 1777.5(k), listed on the DAS minimum ratios page. If your craft is on this list, use its ratio instead of 5 in the calculator above.
| Craft | Region | Ratio in effect |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Engineers | Northern California | 1 apprentice for every 4 journeymen |
| Operating Engineers | Southern California | 1 apprentice for every 5 journeymen, the statutory floor |
| Laborers | Northern and Southern California | No apprentice required until 4 journeymen are on the jobsite |
| Teamsters | Southern California | 1 apprentice for every 5 journeymen, the statutory floor |
If your craft is not on this list, the statutory 1 to 5 floor in subdivision (g) applies unless your program's own apprenticeship standards set a stricter ratio, or your contractor holds its own exemption certificate under subdivision (j). DAS updates these craft letters, so check the source page before you rely on the number for a bid.
The rules that change the count
- Program standards can be stricter. A contractor bound by a program's standards employs the number or ratio of apprentices those standards stipulate, but never less than the statutory floor (subdivision (i)).
- Overtime does not count. Journeyman hours beyond eight per day or 40 per week are excluded when computing the ratio (subdivision (h)).
- A contractor can hold its own exemption. A contractor who shows it employs apprentices in a craft across all its contracts at an annual average of at least one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work may be granted a certificate exempting it from the 1 to 5 hourly ratio on a given job (subdivision (j)). This individual certificate is separate from the craft and region exemptions DAS has already granted in the table above.
- Small contracts are out of scope. The section does not apply to contracts of general contractors, or of specialty contractors not bidding through a general or prime contractor, that involve less than $30,000 (subdivision (o)).
- Training contributions are separate. A contractor employing journeymen or apprentices in an apprenticeable craft also contributes to the California Apprenticeship Council for every hour worked; see CAC training fund contributions.
Penalty for missing the ratio: Labor Code 1777.7
If the Labor Commissioner finds after an investigation that a contractor or subcontractor knowingly violated Labor Code section 1777.5, Labor Code section 1777.7(a)(1) sets the civil penalty at not more than $100 for each full calendar day of noncompliance for a first violation. A second or subsequent knowing violation within a three year period, where the noncompliance results in apprenticeship training not being provided, forfeits not more than $300 for each full calendar day of noncompliance. Those figures are ceilings, not fixed fines: subdivision (b) has the Labor Commissioner set the amount inside them by weighing whether the violation was intentional, any prior violations, voluntary steps taken to fix it, lost apprentice training opportunities, and harm to apprentices or programs. For a first violation, subdivision (a)(2) also lets the Labor Commissioner order the contractor to provide apprentice employment equivalent to the hours that would have been worked, instead of the monetary penalty, with the concurrence of the apprenticeship program.
Worked example: 30 days of noncompliance is up to $3,000 for a first violation, and up to $9,000 for a repeat one within three years. This is the statutory ceiling, not a guaranteed fine; the Labor Commissioner sets the actual amount using the subdivision (b) factors.
Where this shows up on certified payroll
Apprentices appear on the WH-347 and the eCPR with their own classification and rate, which comes from the apprentice wage schedule for the determination, not the journeyman rate. A ratio shortfall is visible on the certified payroll before anyone asks for it, because the hours by classification are right there. This penalty runs alongside the separate certified payroll penalties covered in certified payroll penalties in California and our certified payroll penalty calculator. We check the classifications and the ratio on every file, and we prepare the DAS 140 and the DAS 142 (see our DAS 140 and DAS 142 guide), and the CAC-2, for the projects that need them.