Lujan v. G & G Fire Sprinklers, Inc., 532 U.S. 189, 5 (2001)

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Cite as: 532 U. S. 189 (2001)

Opinion of the Court

tor or his or her assignees." § 1732. The awarding body retains the wages and penalties "pending the outcome of the suit." § 1731.3

In 1995, DLSE determined that G & G, as a subcontractor on three public works projects, had violated the Labor Code by failing to pay the prevailing wage and failing to keep and/or furnish payroll records upon request. DLSE issued notices to the awarding bodies on those projects, directing them to withhold from the contractors an amount equal to the wages and penalties forfeited due to G & G's violations. The awarding bodies withheld payment from the contractors, who in turn withheld payment from G & G. The total withheld, according to respondent, exceeded $135,000. App. 68.

G & G sued petitioners in the District Court for the Central District of California. G & G sought declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to Rev. Stat. § 1979, 42 U. S. C. § 1983, claiming that the issuance of withholding notices without a hearing constituted a deprivation of property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The District Court granted respondent's motion for summary judgment, declared §§ 1727, 1730-1733, 1775, 1776(g), and 1813 of the Labor Code unconstitutional, and enjoined the State from enforcing these provisions

3 Sections 1730-1733 of the Code have been repealed, effective July 1, 2001. Section 1742 has replaced them. It provides that "[a]n affected contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of a civil wage and penalty assessment [under the Code] by transmitting a written request to the office of the Labor Commissioner." § 1742(a). The contractor or sub-contractor is then entitled to a hearing before the Director of Industrial Relations, who shall appoint an impartial hearing officer. Within 45 days of the hearing, the director shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying, or dismissing the assessment. A contractor or subcontractor may obtain review of the director's decision by filing a petition for a writ of the mandate in state superior court. §§ 1742(b), (c). These provisions are not yet in effect and these procedures were not available to respondent at the time of the withholding of payments at issue here.

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