1500.

 As used in this chapter:

(a) “Person” includes any individual, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation.

(b) “Building maintenance service contractor” means any person who, for a fee, employs workers to render personal building maintenance service.

(c) “License” means a license issued by the Labor Commissioner to carry on the business, activities, or operations of a building maintenance service contractor under this chapter.

(d) “Licensee” means a contractor who holds a valid and unrevoked license under this chapter.

1501.

 (a)No person shall act as a building maintenance service contractor until a license to do so has been issued to him or her by the Labor Commissioner, and unless the license is in full force and effect. Licenses shall be renewed annually. The Labor Commissioner shall, by regulation, provide a means of issuing duplicate licenses in case of loss of the original license or any other appropriate instances.

(b)Provision of building maintenance service by any contractor without a current license in effect is a misdemeanor.

1502.

 No person awarding authority shall knowingly enter into an agreement for building maintenance service with a contractor who is not licensed under this chapter.

1503.

 The Labor Commissioner shall not issue to any person a license to act as a building maintenance service contractor, nor shall the Labor Commissioner renew a license, until all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The person has executed a written application therefor in a form prescribed by the Labor Commissioner, subscribed and sworn to by the person, and containing all of the following:

(1) A statement by the person of all facts required by the Labor Commissioner concerning the applicant’s character, competency, responsibility, and the manner and method by which the person proposes to conduct operations as a contractor if the license is issued.

(2) The names and addresses of all persons financially interested, as partners, associates, or profit sharers, in the proposed operation as a contractor, together with the amount of their respective interests. For purposes of this paragraph, financial interests do not include the salary or benefits received by a bona fide employee.

(3) A declaration consenting to the designation by a court of the Labor Commissioner as an agent available to accept service of summons in any action against the licensee if the licensee has left the jurisdiction in which the action is commenced or otherwise has become unavailable to accept service.

(b) The Labor Commissioner, after investigation, is satisfied as to the character, competency, and responsibility of the person.

(c) The person has deposited with the Labor Commissioner a surety bond, or a cash deposit, subject to the same liability as the bond, in the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). Where the contractor has been the subject of a final judgment in a year in an amount equal to that of the bond required, he or she shall be required to deposit an additional bond within 60 days. The bond shall be payable to the people of the State of California and shall be conditioned that the contractor will comply with all the terms and provisions of this chapter and will pay all damages occasioned to any person by failure to do so, or by any violation of this chapter, or false statements or misrepresentations made in the procurement of the license. The bond shall also be payable for interest on wages and for any damages arising from violation of orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, but shall not be payable for penalties on nonpayment or late payment of wages pursuant to Section 203. If a cash deposit is given instead of a bond, the Labor Commissioner may charge reasonable legal fees against the deposit for handling claims, other than wage claims, filed against the deposit.

(d) The person has paid to the Labor Commissioner a license fee of five hundred dollars ($500), or in the case of license renewal, three hundred fifty dollars ($350).

(e) The person in an oral or written examination, or both, demonstrates an essential degree of knowledge of the current statutes and administrative regulations concerning building maintenance service as the Labor Commissioner deems necessary for the safety and protection of contractor’s employees, and the public. This examination shall include a demonstration of knowledge of the current statutes and regulations regarding wages, hours, and working conditions, collective bargaining, and safe work practices, including employer responsibility for safe working conditions. Every licensee shall be required to take and pass the examination as a condition of relicensure every fourth year.

(f) Whenever an application for a license or renewal is made and application processing pursuant to this chapter has not been completed, the Labor Commissioner may, in his or her discretion, issue a temporary or provisional license valid for a period not exceeding 90 days, and subject, where appropriate, to automatic and summary revocation by the Labor Commissioner. Otherwise, the conditions for issuance or renewal shall meet the requirements of this section.

(g) The Labor Commissioner may renew a license without requiring the applicant for renewal to take the examination specified in subdivision (e) if the Labor Commissioner finds that the applicant meets all of the criteria for issuance of a license, has satisfactorily completed the license examination during the immediately preceding four years, has not during the preceding four years been found to be in violation of this chapter or any applicable employment laws or regulations.

1504.

 (a) License fees received by the Labor Commissioner shall be deposited in a special account known as the Building Maintenance Worker Remedial Fund. Funds within the Building Maintenance Workers Remedial Fund are continuously appropriated for purposes of this chapter, including those set forth in this subdivision. The Labor Commissioner shall apply funds from the Building Maintenance Workers Remedial Fund to costs incurred to administer and enforce this chapter. Moneys in the account remaining after those costs are defrayed shall be disbursed by the Labor Commissioner only to persons determined by the Labor Commissioner to have been damaged by any licensee when the damage exceeds the limits of the licensee’s bond. In making these determinations, the Labor Commissioner shall disburse funds from the account to satisfy claims against contractors, which shall also include interest on wages and any damages arising from the violation of orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, but shall not include penalties on nonpayment or late payment of wages pursuant to Section 203. Any disbursed funds subsequently recovered by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (b), or otherwise, shall be returned to the separate account.

(b) The Labor Commissioner and the deputies and representatives authorized by the Labor Commissioner in writing may take assignments of actions on the bond against licensees by persons damaged and may prosecute those actions on behalf of persons who, in the judgment of the Labor Commissioner, are financially unable to employ counsel, in the same manner that claims are prosecuted under Section 98.

1505.

 The Labor Commissioner, upon proper notice and hearing, may refuse to grant a license. The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and the commissioner shall have all of the powers granted therein.

1506.

 All applications for license renewal shall state the names and addresses of all persons, except bona fide employees on stated salaries, financially interested either as partners, associates or profit sharers in the operation of the contractor.

1507.

 (a) Each license shall contain, on the face thereof, all of the following:

(1) The name and address of the licensee and the fact that the licensee is licensed to act as a building maintenance service contractor for the period upon the face of the license only.

(2) The number, date of issuance, and date of expiration of the license.

(3) The amount of the surety bond deposited by the licensee.

(4) The fact that the license may not be transferred or assigned.

(5) Photographic identification of the licensee.

(b) The license shall contain on the back thereof the definition of a building maintenance service contractor.

1508.

 The Labor Commissioner may revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew any license when it is shown that any of the following have occurred:

(a) The licensee or any agent of the licensee has violated or failed to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter.

(b) The licensee has made any misrepresentations or false statements in his or her application for a license.

(c) The conditions under which the license was issued have changed or no longer exist.

(d) The licensee, or any agent of the licensee, has violated, or has willfully aided or abetted any person in the violation of, or failed to comply with, any law of the State of California regulating employment of persons in building maintenance service, the payment of wages to those employees, or the conditions, terms, or places of employment affecting the health and safety of those employees, which is applicable to the business, activities, or operations of the licensee in his or her capacity as a contractor.

1509.

 Before revoking or suspending any license, the Labor Commissioner shall afford the licensee an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel. The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the Labor Commissioner shall have all the powers granted therein.

1510.

 A licensee whose license is suspended or revoked pursuant to this chapter shall immediately surrender the license to the Labor Commissioner.

1511.

 Every licensee shall do both of the following:

(a) Prior to entering into a contract or agreement to provide building maintenance service, the licensee shall first provide, to the other party to the proposed contract or agreement, a copy of his or her current valid license.

(b) Obtain a business license to engage in the business of providing building maintenance service in every county and city in which the licensee performs building maintenance service.

1512.

 Every contractor shall keep accurate records for three years which show all of the following:

(a) The names and addresses of all employees directly employed by the contractor to provide building maintenance service.

(b) The hours worked daily by employees, including the times the employees begin and end each work period.

(c) The wage and wage rates paid each payroll period.

1513.

 When a licensee has departed from the state with intent to defraud creditors or to avoid service of summons in any action brought under this chapter, service shall be made upon the surety as prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure. A copy of the summons shall be mailed to the licensee at the last known post-office address of his or her residence, as shown by the records of the Labor Commissioner. Service is complete as to the licensee, after mailing, at the expiration of the time prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure for service of summons in the particular court in which suit is brought.

1514.

 The Labor Commissioner may assess and collect a civil penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) per violation for the first violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violationfor subsequent violations against any licensee who violates any provision of this chapter.

1516.

 The Labor Commissioner shall establish a data base of all licensees in good standing and shall post and maintain a current copy of the data base on the Internet World Wide Website of the Department of Industrial Relations.

1517.

 The Labor Commissioner shall provide each licensee with a copy of this chapter and information concerning, or a compilation or summary of, employment laws that are most commonly applicable to the building maintenance services industry.

1518.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that persons who are engaged as building maintenance service contractors frequently close down their businesses to avoid paying their employees’ wages and subsequently restart their businesses under the conditions described in subdivision (b).

(b) A successor to any person engaged as a building maintenance service contractor, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1500, that owes wages to the predecessor’s former employee or employees is liable for those wages if the successor meets any of the following criteria:

(1) Uses substantially the same facilities or workforce to provide substantially the same services for substantially the same type of customers as the predecessor employer.

(2) Shares in the ownership, management, control of labor relations, or interrelations of business operations with the predecessor employer.

(3) Has in its employ or managerial capacity any person who directly or indirectly controlled the wages, hours, or working conditions of the affected employees of the predecessor employer.

(4) Is an immediate family member or any owner, partner, officer, or director of the predecessor employer or of any person who had financial interest in the predecessor employer.

1519.

 This chapter shall become operative, and shall be fully implemented, on June 1, 2001.