Wage Determinations

Covers the wage-rate inputs that drive every line of a certified payroll report. Understanding these terms is essential for accurate pay calculations on public-works projects.

Wage Determination

A wage determination is an official DOL or state agency document listing the minimum prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits required for each worker classification on a specific public-works project, incorporated by reference into the construction contract. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software maps each worker's classification to the applicable wage determination at time entry, eliminating manual rate lookups.

Also known as: WD, Wage Decision

Federal wage determinations are published and searchable at SAM.gov; California rates are available through DIR's PWC-10 database.

Worker Classification

Worker classification, in the prevailing-wage context, is the assignment of each laborer or mechanic to a specific trade category, such as carpenter, electrician or ironworker, that determines which wage determination rate applies to their hours on a covered project. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software captures classification at the time-entry level, ensuring each hour is tagged to the correct trade before certified payroll is generated.

Also known as: Trade Classification, Labor Classification

Misclassification, assigning a worker to a lower-rated trade to reduce labor costs, is the most common Davis-Bacon violation cited by DOL auditors.

Fringe Benefit Credit

A fringe benefit credit is the dollar amount a contractor may deduct from the cash wage owed under a prevailing-wage determination, equal to the value of bona fide benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions or vacation pay provided to that worker.

Fringe benefits must be paid to a third-party plan or as additional cash; annualized fringe rates are listed on each DOL wage determination.

Conformance (Wage Conformance)

Wage conformance is the formal DOL process by which a contractor requests a new wage rate for a worker classification not listed on the applicable wage determination, requiring submission of a conformance request and DOL approval before the new rate may be used.

Also known as: Wage Conformance, Conformance Request

Conformance requests are submitted on SF-1444; approval can take weeks to months, creating project scheduling risk if not initiated early.

Certified Payroll Forms and Reporting

Defines the output artifacts, forms, statements and submission mechanisms that constitute compliance deliverables for public-works contractors.

Certified Payroll Report (WH-347)

The WH-347 is the U.S. Department of Labor's standard certified payroll form, used by contractors on Davis-Bacon-covered projects to report each worker's classification, hours, wage rate, deductions and net pay on a weekly basis alongside a signed Statement of Compliance. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software auto-populates WH-347 fields from time-capture data, reducing the risk of incomplete submissions.

Also known as: WH-347, DOL Form WH-347

WH-347 use is not mandatory; contractors may use any format that contains all required data fields. However, it is the de facto standard accepted by all federal contracting agencies.

Statement of Compliance

A Statement of Compliance is a signed declaration included on or attached to each weekly certified payroll report in which the contractor certifies under penalty of law that the payroll data is accurate and that all workers have been paid at least the required prevailing wages.

False statements on a Statement of Compliance can result in criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements to the federal government).

eCPR Submission

eCPR submission is the electronic filing of certified payroll reports through a government agency's online portal, most prominently California DIR's eCPR system, replacing paper or PDF submissions with structured digital data that agencies can audit and cross-reference automatically. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software generates eCPR-ready export files formatted to California DIR specifications, enabling electronic submission without manual data re-entry.

Also known as: Electronic Certified Payroll Reporting

California's DIR has required eCPR for most public-works projects since 2015; federal agencies increasingly accept or require electronic submission via agency-specific portals.

Payroll-Ready Time Data

Payroll-ready time data is time and attendance information captured with sufficient job, classification and cost-code context at the point of entry that it can flow directly into certified payroll report generation without manual correction or reconciliation. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software is built around payroll-ready time capture: every clock-in records the project, cost code and worker classification so certified payroll runs without end-of-period cleanup.

The absence of payroll-ready time data, where workers clock in without job or classification tags, is the root cause of most certified payroll reconciliation delays.

Certified Payroll Reporting Period

The certified payroll reporting period is the weekly cycle, typically Sunday through Saturday, for which a contractor must compile and submit a certified payroll report. Submission is generally required within seven days of the period's close under most federal and state contracts.

Also known as: Weekly Payroll Period

Some state contracts (e.g., California public-works) require submission within seven days of payroll; federal contracts specify submission to the contracting officer per contract terms.

Roles and Actors

Names the people and entities responsible for producing, signing and auditing certified payroll. Clarity on roles prevents accountability gaps in the compliance chain.

Prime Contractor

A prime contractor, in the certified payroll context, is the company that holds the direct contract with the government agency on a public-works project and bears ultimate responsibility for ensuring that both its own workers and all subcontractors comply with prevailing-wage and certified payroll requirements.

Also known as: General Contractor, GC

Prime contractors are liable for subcontractor violations and must collect and review subcontractor certified payroll reports as part of their compliance program.

Subcontractor

A subcontractor, in the prevailing-wage context, is any firm hired by the prime contractor to perform a portion of a covered public-works project; subcontractors must submit their own weekly certified payroll reports and are independently subject to prevailing-wage and Davis-Bacon requirements. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software supports multi-tier certified payroll workflows, allowing prime contractors to collect and review subcontractor submissions within a single compliance dashboard.

Also known as: Sub, Lower-Tier Subcontractor

Lower-tier subcontractors (sub-subcontractors) are equally covered; the prime contractor's compliance obligation extends to all tiers.

Signing Authority

Signing authority refers to the individual, typically a company officer, owner or designated payroll administrator, who is legally authorized to sign the Statement of Compliance on each certified payroll report, certifying its accuracy under penalty of law.

The signer must have personal knowledge of the payroll data or reasonable basis to certify it; delegation to an unauthorized employee creates legal exposure.

Contracting Officer (CO)

A contracting officer is the federal or state agency representative with authority to administer a public-works contract, including responsibility to receive certified payroll reports, investigate wage complaints and refer violations to the DOL Wage and Hour Division or equivalent state agency.

Also known as: CO, Contracting Officer's Representative

Contractors submit certified payroll reports to the CO or their designated representative; the CO is the first point of contact for compliance inquiries and audit requests.

Overtime and Pay Rules

Covers the pay-calculation concepts that most frequently cause errors and back-wage liability on public-works projects, including overtime thresholds, fringe crediting and rate conversions.

Prevailing Wage Overtime

Prevailing wage overtime refers to overtime pay calculation rules on covered public-works projects, where overtime is generally required at 1.5 times the worker's base wage rate for hours exceeding 8 per day or 40 per week, depending on applicable federal or state law. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software applies project-specific overtime rules automatically at time capture, flagging daily and weekly thresholds before payroll is processed.

California public-works projects require daily overtime (over 8 hours per day) and double-time (over 12 hours per day) under Labor Code § 1815, stricter than federal FLSA weekly-only overtime.

Straight-Time Equivalent

The straight-time equivalent is a pay calculation method used on prevailing-wage projects where fringe benefit costs are credited against total compensation owed, converting the combined cash-plus-fringe obligation into a comparable straight-time hourly rate for overtime base-rate calculations.

Also known as: STE

Incorrect straight-time equivalent calculations, particularly when fringe credits are applied to the overtime premium rather than the base rate, are a recurring DOL audit finding.

Bona Fide Fringe Benefit

A bona fide fringe benefit, in the Davis-Bacon context, is an employer-provided benefit such as health insurance, pension, vacation or apprenticeship contributions that meets DOL criteria for crediting against the fringe portion of a prevailing-wage determination, reducing the required cash wage payment.

Benefits paid directly to the worker as cash (rather than to a qualifying third-party plan) are treated as wages, not fringe, and do not reduce the cash wage obligation.

Compliance Failure Modes

Defines the adverse outcomes and error patterns that certified payroll automation is designed to prevent. These terms help contractors identify and mitigate risk before violations occur.

Misclassification

Misclassification, in the prevailing-wage context, is the error of assigning a worker to a lower-rated trade classification than the work actually performed, resulting in underpayment of wages and potential back-wage liability, fines and debarment. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software mitigates misclassification risk by locking worker classifications at the time-entry level, preventing after-the-fact reclassification that triggers audit flags.

Also known as: Worker Misclassification, Trade Misclassification

Misclassification is the most common Davis-Bacon violation cited by DOL auditors in construction enforcement actions.

Debarment

Debarment is the sanction by which the DOL or a state agency prohibits a contractor from bidding on or being awarded federally or state-funded construction contracts for a period of up to three years, typically imposed for willful or repeated prevailing-wage violations.

Debarred contractors are listed on SAM.gov's Excluded Parties List System; contracting officers are required to check this list before awarding contracts.

Back-Wage Liability

Back-wage liability is the financial obligation imposed on a contractor found to have underpaid workers on a prevailing-wage project, requiring restitution of the difference between wages actually paid and wages owed under the applicable wage determination, plus potential liquidated damages and civil penalties. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software provides audit-ready certified payroll records that help contractors defend against back-wage claims and demonstrate good-faith compliance.

Also known as: Back Pay Liability, Wage Restitution

Under the Davis-Bacon Act, back wages are withheld from contract payments until restitution is confirmed; repeat violations trigger debarment proceedings.

Certified Payroll & Prevailing Wage Glossary: 24 Key Terms Defined

Foundational Law and Jurisdiction

Fair Pay Starts at the Clock

Wage Determinations

Certified Payroll Forms and Reporting

Roles and Actors

Overtime and Pay Rules

Compliance Failure Modes

How These Terms Relate

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