ABC Nat. Line Erection Apprenticeship Training Trust v. Aubry
| Decision Date | 17 October 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-17317,93-17317 |
| Citation | 68 F.3d 343 |
| Parties | 131 Lab.Cas. P 58,058, 2 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1603, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8112, 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 13,948 ABC NATIONAL LINE ERECTION APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING TRUST, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Lloyd AUBRY, JR., in his official capacity as the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations for the State of California and Victoria Bradshaw in her official capacity as the Labor Commissioner for the State of California, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Mark R. Thierman, Gordon J. Fine, Thierman Law Partnership, San Francisco, California, for plaintiff-appellant.
John M. Rea, James D. Fisher, Department of Industrial Relations, San Francisco, California, for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before: BEEZER and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges, and EZRA, District Judge. *
This appeal presents the question whether the impact of California's prevailing wage law on a trainee/apprenticeship program not approved by California confers upon a trust that administers such a program standing to challenge the relevant provisions of the California Labor Code as preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1144(a). We hold that, in light of our decision in Dillingham Constr. N.A., Inc. v. County of Sonoma, 57 F.3d 712 (9th Cir.1995), as well as the direct regulation of the programs through the California approval process, the trust has standing.
Appellant ABC National Line Erection Apprenticeship Training Trust ("ABC Trust") is an apprenticeship and training trust fund based in Boca Raton, Florida. It provides financial support for training electrical power line erectors and distribution employees, also called "outside wiremen," for subscribing employers. Appellee Lloyd Aubry, Jr. is the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations ("DIR") and Administrator of Apprenticeship for the State of California. Appellee Victoria Bradshaw is the Labor Commissioner for the State of California and Chief Officer of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ("DLSE").
On July 12, 1993, ABC Trust filed a complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 challenging DIR's enforcement of California Labor Code Sec. 1777.5 and related regulations, Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Secs. 230, 230.1 and 230.2. The state's prevailing wage law, California Labor Code Sec. 1771, requires that contractors pay the prevailing wage rate to employees on public works projects valued over $1,000.00. Section 1777.5 exempts only apprentices in "state approved" apprenticeship programs from the provisions of the state prevailing wage law. Taken together, these provisions require public works contractors to: (1) pay only into state-approved apprenticeship trust funds or, alternatively, to the California Apprenticeship Council; (2) provide information about the work site and employees to a state-approved apprenticeship committee; and (3) employ only state-approved apprentices. ABC Trust, which is an apprenticeship trust fund not approved by the State of California, sought to enjoin enforcement of the statute and related regulations, arguing that ERISA's broad preemption provision, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1141(a), prohibits state regulation of employee welfare benefit plans such as ABC Trust.
Specifically, ABC Trust alleged in its complaint that Job Line Construction, Inc. ("Job Line"), an Oregon corporation and a participating employer in ABC Trust, won a public works contract paid by funds subject to the California Labor Code. According to ABC Trust, Job Line contacted the DIR to inquire whether contributions to ABC Trust would satisfy its obligation under California Labor Code Sec. 1777.5. The complaint alleges that the DIR informed Job Line that under Sec. 1777.5 and related regulations, it must pay into only state-approved apprenticeship funds or the California Apprenticeship Council, and must employ only state-approved apprentices, or face statutory penalties.
ABC Trust filed a motion for preliminary injunction. Appellees subsequently filed separate but similar motions to dismiss. The court granted the motions to dismiss ABC Trust's complaint with prejudice and denied ABC Trust's motion for preliminary injunction. The court found that ABC Trust did not have standing to challenge the statute because there was no injury fairly traceable to Appellees' conduct in enforcing California Labor Code Sec. 1777.5. The court held that ABC Trust's ability to solicit and receive trust funds had not been impaired because: pursuant to DLSE policy, the contributions of public works contractors to ABC Trust would not be credited toward their apprenticeship training obligations under Sec. 1777.5, but such payments could be credited toward the unrelated fringe benefit portion of their per diem wage obligations. The court found that, while this policy does not affect a contractor's obligations under Sec. 1777.5, it allows a contractor to offset payments to ABC Trust against the fringe benefit portion of its per diem wage obligations. The court also held that ABC Trust had not met the standard for obtaining a preliminary injunction because it did not qualify as a participant, beneficiary or fiduciary empowered by 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1132(a)(3)(A) to "enjoin any act or practice which violates any provision of" ERISA.
On appeal, ABC Trust seeks reinstatement of its complaint and the issuance of a preliminary, then permanent, injunction against Defendants-Appellees, protecting ABC Trust against the adverse consequences of its unapproved status and the application of California's prevailing wage law. ABC Trust also seeks declaratory relief.
A plaintiff must meet three requirements for standing: (1) the plaintiff must have personally "suffered an injury in fact--an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent;" (2) the injury must be "fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant;" and (3) it must be likely that the injury will be "redressed by a favorable decision." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (citations and internal quotations omitted); LaDuke v. Nelson, 762 F.2d 1318, 1323 (9th Cir.1985) (citing Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 472, 102 S.Ct. 752, 758-59, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982)). "[W]hen the plaintiff is not himself the object of the government action or inaction he challenges, standing is not precluded, but it is ordinarily 'substantially more difficult' to establish." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. at 562, 112 S.Ct. at 2137 (quoting Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 758, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 3328, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984)).
ABC Trust argues that it is the object of California's apprenticeship approval requirements. In combination with Secs. 1771 and 1777.5, these requirements encourage public works contractors to pay into state-approved funds and not into ABC Trust. ABC Trust contends that its state-approval status, coupled with the regulation of contractors through Secs. 1771 and 1777.5, creates an injury in fact, fairly traceable to the actions of the Appellees. We find this argument compelling, particularly in light of this court's recent decision in Dillingham Constr. N.A., Inc. v. County of Sonoma, 57 F.3d 712 (9th Cir.1995), decided after briefing here. In Dillingham, this court ruled that ERISA preempted the enforcement of California's prevailing wage law against contractors paying apprentice wages to apprentices from programs that have not received state approval. 57 F.3d at 719. This decision effectively grants ABC Trust the substantive relief it seeks by ending any enforcement of Sec. 1771 against contractors paying into unapproved apprenticeship programs.
In reaching this determination, the court reasoned that California Labor Code Sec. 1771, which mandates prevailing wages, and Sec. 1777.5, which allows payment of lower apprenticeship wages to employees in state-approved apprenticeship programs, encourage participation in state-approved ERISA plans while discouraging participation in ERISA plans not approved by the state:
[T]he application of a state's prevailing wage law to allow payment of lower apprenticeship wages to employees in approved apprenticeship programs "has the effect, and possibly the aim" of encouraging participation in state-approved ERISA plans...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Inland Empire Chapter of Associated General Contractors of America v. Dear
...v. Sylvania, 55 F.3d 468, 469 (9th Cir.1995) (standing). This issue is controlled by our decision in ABC National Line Erection Apprenticeship v. Aubry, 68 F.3d 343, 345 (9th Cir.1995). There we held that the program not approved by the state "suffered direct injury due to the discouragemen......
-
Inland Pacific Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors v. Dear
...case has now come down, as well as another, controlling on several issues left open in that case. ABC National Line Erection Apprenticeship Training Trust v. Aubry, 68 F.3d 343 (9th Cir.1995). We have now decided another Washington apprenticeship program ERISA preemption case, Inland Empire......