Statutory interest rate
10% / year, fixed
Applies to contract-claim judgments when the contract itself doesn't specify a rate.
California · Construction claims reference
Construction Claim Rules in California
Every figure below is the researched rule for California, with its citation and a direct link to the official source so you can confirm it yourself. Covers statutory interest and when it starts accruing, how Actual Cash Value is determined and whether labor can be depreciated, whether a “no damages for delay” clause is enforceable and how long you have to file, the state-specific inputs behind a fully burdened labor rate, and who can be held liable for a construction-site injury.
Statutory Interest & Accrual in California
The rate itself, and the date interest starts running, which differs by claim type in most states.
Accrual: breach of contract claim
From date of breach, if damages are certain or calculable (Civ. Code §3287(a))
If damages are 'certain, or capable of being made certain by calculation,' interest runs from the day the right to recover vested (in practice, the breach date). If a court finds the damages unliquidated instead, §3287(b) applies: interest runs only from a date the court picks in its discretion, no earlier than the date the lawsuit was filed.
Whether your damages count as 'certain/calculable' vs. unliquidated is often disputed; this is the single biggest factor in which accrual date you'll actually get.
Accrual: property damage / tort claim
From date of loss, when the damages are certain or calculable (Civ. Code §3287(a))
Same 'certain or capable of being made certain by calculation' standard as the contract rule above; §3287(a) applies to property claims generally, including against public entities, not just contract claims.
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Actual Cash Value & Property Loss in California
How ACV is determined, whether labor cost can be depreciated, and the rules on releasing withheld recoverable depreciation.
Actual Cash Value rule
Replacement cost minus depreciation
For a partial loss, the cost to repair, rebuild or replace what was lost or injured, less a fair and reasonable deduction for physical depreciation based on condition at the time of loss (or the policy limit, whichever is less); depreciation may only be applied to structural components normally subject to repair/replacement over a structure's useful life.
ACV statute or regulation
California statute and regulation together define ACV and expressly prohibit depreciating labor.
Cal. Insurance Code Section 2051(b) defines ACV as the amount it would cost the insured to repair, rebuild or replace the property lost or injured, less a fair and reasonable deduction for physical depreciation. The California Department of Insurance's Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations further provide, at 10 C.C.R. Section 2695.9(f)(1), that except for intrinsic labor costs included in the cost of manufactured materials or goods, the expense of labor necessary to repair, rebuild or replace covered property is not a component of physical depreciation and shall not be subject to depreciation or betterment. Together these provisions bar insurers from depreciating standalone labor charges when computing ACV in California.
Recoverable depreciation holdback
California statute sets a minimum window, at least 12 months and up to 36 months during a declared emergency, for the insured to complete repairs and collect withheld replacement-cost depreciation, with mandatory good-cause extensions.
Cal. Insurance Code Section 2051.5(a)(1) requires that under a replacement cost policy, once the insured completes repair or replacement the insurer must pay the difference between the ACV payment already made and the full replacement cost, up to policy limits. Subsection (b) prohibits insurers from placing a time limit of less than 12 months, measured from the date of the first ACV payment, on the insured's right to collect this recoverable depreciation. During a state of emergency declared by the Governor covering the loss, that minimum period extends to 36 months. The statute also requires the insurer to grant an additional extension of at least six months, upon request, for good cause such as delays in construction, permitting, materials availability or contractor availability outside the insured's control.
Delay Claims in California
Whether a no-damages-for-delay clause will be enforced against you, and the deadline for bringing a construction contract claim.
“No damages for delay” clause enforceability
Void by statute for public works: a delay clause can't waive damages for unreasonable, uncontemplated delay
California statute directly overrides no-damages-for-delay clauses in public-agency construction contracts and subcontracts: a provision limiting the contractor to a time extension for a delay that is unreasonable under the circumstances and not within the parties' contemplation cannot be enforced to bar damages; a public agency also can't require a contractor to waive this protection. The statute doesn't void separate notice, arbitration/dispute-procedure, or liquidated-damages provisions.
This statutory override applies to public works; a private construction contract's no-damages-for-delay clause is instead evaluated under ordinary contract-interpretation and unconscionability principles, which weren't independently researched this pass.
Construction contract filing deadline
4 years for a written contract claim
California's general limitations period for an action upon any contract, obligation, or liability founded upon an instrument in writing is 4 years from accrual, covering an ordinary written construction-contract claim. Separately, construction-defect claims specifically also face statutes of repose: 10 years for a latent defect and 4 years for a patent defect, both running from substantial completion rather than from accrual, but a pure delay/no-damages-for-delay claim (not a defect claim) is governed by the ordinary 4-year written-contract period confirmed here.
This entry was updated after a follow-up pass independently confirmed the primary statute text; an earlier pass had only found this figure in secondary sources and flagged it honestly as unverified. The separate construction-defect repose periods (§§ 337.1, 337.15) weren't independently re-verified this pass and would need their own confirmation before relying on them for a defect (as opposed to a delay) claim.
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Labor Burden Inputs in California
The state-specific rates and requirements that sit underneath a fully burdened hourly labor cost.
State unemployment insurance (SUTA)
New-employer rate 3.4%, wage base $7,000, experience 1.5% to 6.2%
California's new-employer SUI rate is 3.4% for a new employer's first two to three years of liability, applied to the first $7,000 in wages per employee, one of the lowest taxable wage bases in the country. After the initial period, established employers are experience-rated from a minimum of 1.5% up to a maximum of 6.2%, with the state's UI Trust Fund solvency status (currently in long-term federal loan repayment) also adding surcharges in some years.
California also imposes a separate Employment Training Tax (ETT) and State Disability Insurance (SDI) on wages; those are distinct from SUI and not included in the figures above. Confirmed directly against the official EDD DE 44 publication (edd.ca.gov).
Workers' compensation rating
Independent bureau: WCIRB California (not NCCI)
California is not an NCCI state. Workers' compensation advisory pure premium rates and classification data are developed by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB), an independent, private, nonprofit rating organization licensed by the California Department of Insurance. The Insurance Commissioner reviews and issues an advisory pure premium rate annually based on WCIRB's recommendation, and individual insurers file their own rates relative to that benchmark.
Prevailing wage law
State prevailing-wage law, Labor Code Section 1720 et seq.
California has an extensive state prevailing wage law under Labor Code Section 1720 and following, requiring prevailing wages on public works projects, defined and enforced by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Coverage thresholds vary by project type and awarding body, generally starting around $1,000 for public works generally, with related thresholds of $25,000 for construction and $15,000 for alteration, demolition, repair or maintenance work triggering additional requirements such as DIR project registration and apprenticeship obligations.
Threshold figures vary by specific fact pattern (awarding body type, funding source, contract type); confirm the precise applicable threshold against DIR guidance for the specific project before relying on a single number.
Construction Site Injury & Third-Party Liability in California
OSHA enforcement structure, how much weight an OSHA violation carries in a negligence case, and whether an injured worker's own employer can be pulled back in.
OSHA plan
Cal/OSHA: full state plan, private + public sector
California operates Cal/OSHA, a state plan approved to enforce occupational safety and health standards in place of federal OSHA, covering both private and public-sector employers.
Weight of an OSHA violation in a negligence case
Negligence per se: the strongest classification found in this batch
The California Supreme Court held that failure to meet the standard of care identified in Cal/OSHA regulations may result in a finding of negligence per se against a third-party defendant.
Third-party contribution against the employer
California's Privette doctrine generally shields a hirer (owner/GC) from an independent contractor's employee's injury claim, with real, named exceptions for retained control that affirmatively contributed to the injury, or negligent provision of unsafe equipment.
Privette v. Superior Court sets the general rule; Hooker v. Department of Transportation (retained control + affirmative contribution) and McKown v. Wal-Mart Stores (negligent equipment provision) are the recognized exceptions that let a claim through despite Privette.
Source: attorney research manual (Construction Injury Law national volumes), self-marked "Draft; verify current law and citator status." Case citations are representative authorities from that manual, not independently re-verified against a citator by ClaimDuke.
Injury-severity gate on contribution claims
General exclusivity under §3600, but immunity can be pierced if the employer failed to secure compensation coverage (§3706) or knowingly removed/failed to install a required power-press safety guard (§4558).
Cal. Lab. Code §3600 generally provides employer immunity; §3706 removes that immunity if the employer failed to secure compensation coverage; §4558 (the "power press" exception) allows a direct action if the employer's knowing removal of, or knowing failure to install, a point-of-operation guard proximately caused the injury.
Source: attorney research manual (Construction Injury Law national volumes), self-marked "Draft; verify current law and citator status." Case citations are representative authorities from that manual, not independently re-verified against a citator by ClaimDuke.
Distinctive state doctrine
California's Privette doctrine is a distinctive, named framework (not just a statutory-employer variant) governing when a hirer owes a duty to an independent contractor's injured employee.
Privette v. Superior Court and its progeny (Hooker, Kinsman, McKown) form a body of case law specific to California that doesn't map cleanly onto other states' statutory-employer or retained-control frameworks.
Confirmed real via reuse: Privette citation already verified for thirdPartyContribution. Hooker v. Department of Transportation, 27 Cal.4th 198 (2002), also confirmed real and directly on point this pass (a crane-operator death establishing the retained-control/affirmative-contribution exception).
Put these California rules to work on your own numbers
ClaimDuke's calculators compute delay and extended overhead (Eichleay), fully burdened labor rates, ACV/RCV property loss, litigation interest and construction-injury settlement ranges. Every calculation is free and live; a documented, citation-backed report is $19.
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This page is reference information for your own verification. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for confirming the current rule with the official source linked above or with counsel. Several states' interest rates float and reset on a schedule (monthly, quarterly or annually), so always check the live source for the figure as of today rather than relying on what is shown here. Which rule actually applies to your specific claim is itself a legal question this page cannot answer for you.