# California — State construction apprentice-to-journeyman ratio requirements by trade

For California, trade or program is Operating Engineers – Southern California; initial ratio is not less than one apprentice for each five journeymen; thereafter ratio is same; scope is public works; computation basis is hourly, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.

- **State:** California _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Trade or program:** Operating Engineers – Southern California
- **Initial ratio:** not less than one apprentice for each five journeymen _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Thereafter ratio:** same _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Scope:** public works _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Computation basis:** hourly _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute citation:** Labor Code 1777.5 (g) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> hourly ratio of five journeymen hours per one apprentice hour as required by <http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.5> Labor Code 1777.5 (g) is per craft and only includes straight time hours, not overtime. At the end of the project, straight time apprentice hours must equal one hour for every five straight time journeyman hours for each craft. For example, if you have a total of 100 journeyman hours at the end of the project in a craft, you would need 20 apprentice hours in that same craft. If you fall under the regulations set forth in a specific program's standards, then you are allowed to use the maximum ratio set forth in those standards. Please contact the program or <https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/das_contactUS.html> DAS for a copy of its standards. If you agree to be governed by the regulations set forth by the California Apprenticeship Council, then the minimum and maximum ratio is the same: a total of one apprentice hour for every five journeyman hours for the project as a whole. Contractors with an Individual Contractor Exemption granted by the Chief of DAS per Labor Code Section 1777.5 (j) or § 1777.5(k) still need to submit a Notice of Contract Award Information ( <https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/DASForm140.pdf> DAS 140 ) to the appropriate apprenticeship committee(s). The Individual Contractor Exemptions and Apprentice Committee exemptions pertain only to the ratio of apprentices on a Public Works project.

## Source

- https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioExemption.htm

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2027-08-15.
Part of [State construction apprentice-to-journeyman ratio requirements by trade](https://referencesource.org/state-apprenticeship-ratios-by-trade/).