Certified Payroll and Davis-Bacon: A Plain-English Guide for Construction Contractors

If you’ve just won your first public job and the contract mentions “Davis-Bacon,” “certified payroll,” and a portal called LCP Tracker, you might wonder what you signed up for. The good news is that it follows a pattern. Once you see the pattern, it’s a routine part of every pay week. This guide explains it in plain English: what the rules require, what gets reported, and what to ask of anyone who helps you.

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is for owners, office managers, and bookkeepers at construction companies that work, or want to work, on government-funded projects. That includes union and non-union shops, prime contractors, and subcontractors.

• Public work is construction paid for, in whole or in part, by a government agency, such as a school, a courthouse, a road, or a water plant.
• Prevailing wage is the minimum hourly pay, including benefits, that the government sets for each trade on a public job in a given area. You can pay more, but not less.

If you’re bidding on your first public project, or you already have one and want to make sure your paperwork holds up, this is for you. No HR or legal background needed.

What Davis-Bacon and Certified Payroll Mean

What is the Davis-Bacon Act?

The Davis-Bacon Act is a 1931 federal law that requires contractors on federal construction contracts over $2,000 to pay laborers and mechanics at least the locally prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits for the work performed.

What are the “Related Acts”?

Many other federal laws attach the same wage rules to projects the government helps pay for through grants, loans, or other assistance. Examples include the Federal-Aid Highway Acts, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Together these are called the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, or DBRA. So a project can be covered even when the federal government isn’t the owner, for example when a city builds with federal grant money.

What is a wage determination?

A wage determination is the official list of prevailing wage rates for a project. It lists each trade classification, such as electrician, laborer, or carpenter, with a base hourly rate and a fringe benefit rate. The applicable wage determination is included in your contract, and it must be posted on the job site along with the Davis-Bacon poster (WH-1321).

What is certified payroll?

Certified payroll is a weekly payroll report for a covered project, signed by the contractor to certify that it’s accurate and that every worker was paid at least the required rate. Under Davis-Bacon, it goes to the contracting agency (or to the owner or sponsor if the agency isn’t a party to the contract) for every week covered work is performed. The prime contractor is responsible for collecting and submitting subcontractors’ payrolls too.

What is Form WH-347?

WH-347 is the U.S. Department of Labor’s optional form for Davis-Bacon certified payroll. Page 1 lists each worker’s classification, daily and weekly hours, rates, gross pay, deductions, and net pay. Page 2 is the Statement of Compliance, the signed certification. You can use another format, but the certification wording must match.

What is LCP Tracker?

LCP Tracker is an online system that some agencies and general contractors require for submitting certified payroll, instead of or alongside paper forms. Whether you use it isn’t set by federal or state law. It’s set by the agency or contract on that job. eMars is a similar example. Your contract documents will say which system, if any, applies.

What Gets Calculated and Reported

The rates come from your project’s wage determination, so that document is the source of truth. The types of calculations are consistent from job to job:

1. Classification. Each worker is reported under the classification that matches the work actually done. If one person does two kinds of work in a week, hours may need to be split between classifications.
2. Base rate and fringe. The prevailing wage is the base rate plus the fringe rate. You can meet it with cash wages, bona fide fringe benefits (such as pension or health plan contributions), or a mix of both.
3. Fringe credit. You can only count benefits you actually provide. Contributions must be made at least quarterly. If a worker also does private, non-covered work during the year, you generally have to annualize, meaning the credit is your total benefit cost divided by all hours worked, covered and non-covered. This stops a contractor from funding a year-round benefit only from public-job hours.
4. Overtime. Federal overtime rules still apply. On many federally funded contracts over $100,000, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act also requires time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. Overtime is calculated on the base rate, not the fringe.
5. Apprentices. Apprentices can be paid less than the journeyworker rate only if they’re individually registered in a registered apprenticeship program, and only within the program’s allowed ratio of apprentices to journeyworkers. Otherwise, they must be paid the full prevailing rate for the work.
6. Deductions. Only permitted deductions, such as taxes and deductions the worker authorized, can come out of pay. The Copeland “Anti-Kickback” Act prohibits pressuring workers to give back any part of their pay.

Weekly reports must be accurate and complete, but they shouldn’t include full Social Security numbers or home addresses. An identifier such as the last four digits of the Social Security number is used instead.

Why accuracy matters

Signing certified payroll is a legal certification. The contract itself warns that falsifying it can lead to civil or criminal penalties. Underpayments found in an investigation can mean back wages owed to workers and payments withheld from the contractor. Most problems come from honest errors, like a wrong classification, a missed rate change, or fringe credit that wasn’t annualized. That’s why careful setup matters more than speed.

New York Prevailing Wage: State and City Projects

Not every public job in New York is federal. State and local public work falls under Article 8 of the New York State Labor Law, which has its own prevailing wage schedules.

• Who sets the rates. The New York State Department of Labor publishes prevailing wage schedules for most of the state. For public work in New York City, the NYC Comptroller publishes the schedules.
• The state Certified Payroll Portal. Starting January 1, 2026, contractors and subcontractors on projects covered by Article 8 must submit payroll records electronically through NYSDOL’s Certified Payroll Portal. Submissions are due at least every 30 days while work continues, and within 30 days after the final day of work. Late submissions can bring penalties of up to $100 per day after a 14-day grace period.
• Agency systems still apply. NYSDOL says systems like LCP Tracker and eMars aren’t required by the Department of Labor, but an individual agency can still require them on its projects. Agencies such as DASNY and the Port Authority may also have their own requirements. In other words, one job can require more than one submission.

A federally funded job in New York may need to meet both federal and state rules. When the two differ, the general practice is to pay the higher rate. Confirm with the contracting agency.

Common Mistakes

• Using the wrong wage determination. The wage determination is tied to a specific contract. A rate sheet from a different project or an earlier year may not apply.
• Misclassifying workers. Classification follows the work performed, not the person’s job title.
• Taking fringe credit without annualizing. Claiming a full hourly credit on public-job hours for a benefit funded across the whole year is a common audit finding.
• Paying unregistered apprentices the apprentice rate. A helper who isn’t individually registered must be paid the full rate.
• Missing weeks. A week with covered work and no report creates a gap. Some agencies also expect “no work performed” reports.
• Letting subcontractor payrolls slide. The prime contractor answers for subcontractors’ reports, so late or incomplete ones become the prime’s problem.
• Mismatched records. Certified payroll, your actual payroll, and any union remittance should all agree.

Checklist: What to Expect From a Payroll Partner

If someone helps with your certified payroll, it’s fair to expect:

• Rates set up from the wage determination. Each project is configured with its own classifications and rates.
• Reports generated from the actual payroll. Certified payroll should come from the same data you paid on, not a separate spreadsheet.
• The formats your jobs require. WH-347, NYC Comptroller, DASNY, LCP Tracker, the NYSDOL portal, or whatever your contract specifies.
• A preview before you submit. You should be able to check rates and totals before anything is final.
• Help with corrections. When hours are charged to the wrong job or a worker is underpaid, the fix should flow through to the certified report.
• Construction knowledge. A team that knows prevailing wage and union payroll, not just general payroll.

How Zuma Handles Certified Payroll

• Certified payroll appears automatically. Every job flagged as certified gets its report, including WH-347 page 2, in your weekly payroll archive.
• Multiple formats are supported. NYC Comptroller, DASNY, Port Authority, LCP Tracker, and other formats are supported along with WH-347.
• Preview before you submit. You can preview each employee’s benefit calculations before submitting payroll.
• Union and public work run together. Benefit calculations are built into every run, rate updates are maintained in the system, and overtime follows each employee’s local and classification. If your shop is union, see our guide to Local 3 IBEW payroll.
• Corrections are handled with you. If hours land on the wrong job, our team helps correct the job costing and certified payroll reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is certified payroll?

A weekly payroll report for a public or prevailing wage project, signed by the contractor to certify that every worker was paid at least the required rate for their classification.

Does Davis-Bacon apply to my project?

It applies to federal and DC construction contracts over $2,000, and through the Related Acts to many projects funded with federal grants, loans, or other assistance. Your contract will include the Davis-Bacon clauses and a wage determination if it’s covered.

Do I have to use Form WH-347?

No. WH-347 is optional, but any format you use must include the same information and the same Statement of Compliance wording.

Is LCP Tracker required by law?

No. LCP Tracker is required only when the agency or contract on your project requires it. Check your contract documents.

Can I count health and pension contributions toward the prevailing wage?

Yes, if the state or federal government recognizes them as bona fide fringe benefits for your specific project and you actually provide them, paid at least quarterly. Do not assume every benefit counts. If workers also do non-covered work, the credit is generally annualized across all hours worked. Confirm with a professional who knows the rules for that job.

Can I pay apprentices less on a Davis-Bacon job?

Only if they’re individually registered in a registered apprenticeship program and the job stays within the program’s apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio. Otherwise, they get the full rate.

What changed in New York in 2026?

Starting January 1, 2026, contractors and subcontractors on New York State Article 8 projects must submit certified payroll electronically through NYSDOL’s Certified Payroll Portal, at least every 30 days. Agency systems may still be required on top of that.

What if I find a mistake on a submitted report?

Correct the payroll, pay any back wages owed, and submit a corrected report. Contact the contracting agency about its process. Fixing it promptly is always better than waiting for an audit.

A Quick Note on Accuracy

This guide is general education, not legal or tax advice. Wage determinations, agency requirements, and prevailing wage rules change. Confirm what applies to your project with the contracting agency, the U.S. or New York State Department of Labor, the NYC Comptroller, or your own advisor.

Need a Hand With Certified Payroll?

Zuma Payroll & Processing is based in Melville, New York, with a dedicated team that works only with construction contractors. If it would help, we’re glad to talk through how your certified payroll works today and where things could be easier. No question is too basic.

Contact Zuma Payroll & Processing to start the conversation.