Public Works Payroll Is a Different Animal

If you have been awarded a California public works project over $1,000, your payroll is now regulated. Wage determinations change by county and craft, fringe benefits have to be paid or credited correctly, certified payroll is due weekly, and the penalties for getting it wrong land on you, not your payroll company.

Most bookkeepers have never touched a wage determination. This is the work I do every week.

What Compliance Actually Requires

DIR contractor registrationActive registration before bidding, and renewed on time. No registration, no legal award.

Correct classification and wage determinationThe right craft, the right county, the right determination date for the job. Misclassification is the most expensive mistake in public works payroll.

Base rate plus fringeHealth and welfare, pension, vacation and holiday, training. Paid as benefits, credited properly, or added to the check.

Overtime under the determinationPublic works overtime rules follow the wage determination, not the standard California rule. They are not always the same.

Weekly certified payrolleCPR filed through the DIR portal for state jobs. WH-347 for federal and Davis-Bacon projects.

Apprenticeship requirementsDAS-140 notice of contract award, DAS-142 request to dispatch, and correct journeyman-to-apprentice ratios on site.

Records that survive an auditTime records, fringe backup, and payroll that reconciles to the certified reports when Labor Compliance comes asking.

Two Ways to Work Together

I run your payroll

I set up the job, the classifications, and the fringe rates, run payroll each period, and file your eCPR through DIR directly. You approve the hours. Nothing else lands on you.

I train whoever runs it

If payroll is already handled in-house or by another provider, I set up the system correctly and train your person to produce and file certified payroll themselves, then stay available when something unusual comes up on a job.

Apprenticeship Notices

I prepare and submit the DAS-140 on your contract awards. I prepare the DAS-142 as well, but you submit it, because the dispatch request is tied to your job schedule and your manpower needs and the request has to land within the required window. You know when you need bodies on site; I do not.

Where Contractors Get Burned

Paying the base rate and skipping the fringe

The fringe amount is owed whether or not you have a benefit plan. With no qualifying plan, it goes on the check as wages. Underpaying fringe creates back wages plus penalties per worker per day.

Using the wrong determination date

The applicable determination is tied to the bid advertisement date for the project, not to today's rates. Running current rates on an older job can leave you short or over on every single check.

Classifying a worker by what you call the job

Classification follows the work actually performed on site, not the job title on your org chart. A laborer operating equipment may owe an operator rate for those hours.

Filing certified payroll late, or not at all

Certified payroll is due weekly and the awarding body can withhold progress payments until it is current. Late filing is the fastest way to stall your own cash flow on a job.

Missing the DAS-140 window

The notice of contract award is due within a set window after the award. Skipping it does not go unnoticed, and apprenticeship shortfalls follow the contractor.

Who This Is For

Concrete, rebar, painting, hauling, electrical, mechanical, landscaping, and general contractors working on California public works — school districts, water districts, municipalities, Caltrans, and federally funded projects. First public works award or the fifteenth.

Prevailing Wage & Certified Payroll Compliance