On a Prevailing Wage Job, How Do You Track Hours by Classification?#

Record every worker's hours each day against the classification of work they actually performed, as listed on the job's wage determination, with straight time and overtime kept separate. Under the federal Davis-Bacon rules, a worker who does two kinds of work in one day may be paid each classification's rate for the time spent on it, but only if your payroll records accurately show that split. That daily split is also what goes, row by row, on the weekly certified payroll, so it has to be captured on site by the foreman, not rebuilt in the office on Friday.

What rules apply to your job?#

Most US trade contractors run into two sets of rules: the federal Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, and their own state's prevailing wage law. The contract tells you which apply, and some jobs carry both.

	Federal: Davis-Bacon and Related Acts	State example: California public works
When it applies	Federally funded or assisted construction contracts over $2,000	State and local public works, with some exemptions
Where the rates come from	The wage determination in the contract (published on SAM.gov)	Prevailing wage determinations issued by California's Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
What you report	Certified payroll, weekly, for each week covered work is done	Electronic certified payroll records (eCPR) to the Labor Commissioner
How often	Weekly	At least monthly, or more often if the contract says so
Form	WH-347 is optional; the weekly information and signed statement are required	DIR's online system or its XML format
Overtime	Time and a half over 40 hours in a workweek on prime contracts over $100,000 (Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act)	Check the contract and state law
Records kept	At least 3 years after all work on the prime contract is complete	Check state law

Federal facts are from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and 29 CFR 5.5; California facts are from DIR. All were checked on October 14, 2026. Other states have their own thresholds, forms and deadlines. DOL keeps a state-by-state threshold table, but it was last revised January 1, 2023, so confirm with your state's labor department before you bid.

What does "classification" mean on a prevailing wage job?#

It means the type of work, not the person. The federal rule is that workers "must be paid the appropriate wage rate and fringe benefits on the wage determination for the classification(s) of work actually performed, without regard to skill."

So the card in a worker's wallet doesn't decide the rate. What they did with their hands that hour does. A journeyman doing work the determination lists under another classification is reported in that classification for those hours. If the work your crew does isn't listed on the determination at all, you ask the contracting officer for an added classification and rate (a "conformance"); the officer sends it to the Department of Labor, which approves or changes it, normally within 30 days. Ask early, not after the first payroll.

For union contractors: if your collective agreement rate is higher than the determination, you keep paying it. But the certified payroll still has to list the classification of work actually performed, and the total of wages plus fringes has to meet the determination for that classification.

Can you pay one worker two rates in one day?#

Yes, if your records prove it. The federal clause reads: "Laborers or mechanics performing work in more than one classification may be compensated at the rate specified for each classification for the time actually worked therein: Provided, That the employer's payroll records accurately set forth the time spent in each classification."

Take a Tuesday on a federally funded clinic job. The rates below are made up for illustration.

Worker	Classification of work	Hours	Base rate	Fringe	Cost
Dana	Classification A (for example, the trade's journeyworker)	6	$48.00	$22.50	$423.00
Dana	Classification B (lower-rated work on the same determination)	2	$31.00	$15.00	$92.00
	Day total	8			$515.00

If Dana's time card just says "8 hours, clinic job", you have nothing that shows two of those hours were Classification B work. With no record of the split, you have no basis for paying the lower rate on any of those hours, and paying all 8 at Classification A would cost $564.00. Across a crew and a 12-week job, the difference adds up, and so does the exposure if an investigator finds the split was claimed but never recorded.

The fix is simple to say and hard to do on paper: the foreman records the split that day, while everyone remembers it.

What do apprentices get paid?#

The apprentice rate applies only if the apprentice is registered in an approved apprenticeship program and you are within the ratio that program allows on the site. DOL's rule is plain: a worker listed at an apprentice rate who isn't registered "must be paid not less than the applicable wage rate on the wage determination for the classification of work actually performed," and so must any apprentice working "in excess of the ratio permitted."

On the WH-347, each worker is marked "J" for journeyworker or "RA" for registered apprentice (DOL says journeyworker; your agreement and Appello's wage table likely say journeyman; same thing), and apprentices also list their level in the program. Keep the registration paperwork with the job file, and check the ratio when you schedule, not when you file.

What has to be in your payroll records?#

Under 29 CFR 5.5, your records for each worker on the site must show:

• name, Social Security number, and last known address, phone and email
• each classification of work actually performed
• hourly wage rates paid, including fringe benefit contributions or cash paid instead
• daily and weekly hours actually worked, in total and on each covered contract
• deductions made and actual wages paid

The WH-347 follows the same shape. DOL's instructions say to "List the labor classification for the work actually performed," "using a separate row for each labor classification in which the worker performed work," with hours by day and overtime on its own line. Fringe benefits paid into plans go in one column and cash paid instead of fringes in another.

Everything on that list except deductions and net pay starts on the daily timesheet. If the timesheet has job, classification, straight time and overtime for each worker each day, certified payroll is your normal payroll run plus a report of those classified hours. If it doesn't, someone in the office is guessing.

What about crews that work prevailing wage and private jobs in the same week?#

This is where spreadsheets break. A worker puts in three days on a private warehouse at the agreement rate and two on a federally funded school at the determination rate. DOL's rule asks for hours "in total and on each covered contract," and federal overtime counts the whole workweek. So every timesheet row needs the job on it, and the job needs to carry its own rate rules.

What should you ask of your timesheet system?#

1. Does the job carry its own rates, so the determination is set once, not remembered on every row?
2. Can one worker have two classifications in one day, on separate rows with their own hours?
3. Does the rate follow the date, for when the determination or agreement changes mid-job?
4. Can you lock the week once certified payroll is signed, and export a file your payroll provider runs?

Where is Appello not the right fit?#

Appello is built for ICI trade contractors, often union, with about 20 to 400 field staff. It isn't built for:

• Residential builders and remodelers.
• General contractors who need document control for the whole building.
• One-person shops with no crew to track.

Where does Appello fit?#

Appello is for ICI trade contractors running union crews across several jobs, some of them prevailing wage, who want the classification split captured when the work happens.

• The job carries the rates. Every job has a wage region, and it applies to every timesheet on that job. Wage regions are built for exactly this: different prevailing wage rates for the same classification in different jurisdictions.
• The wage table is the determination. Each employment agreement holds a wage table for each pay category (straight time, time and a half, double time). Trade classifications (apprentice levels, journeyman, foreman) run across the columns; the base rate and line items such as health and welfare, pension and vacation run down the rows. Pick a wage region and enter its rates, or copy them from the default and change what differs.
• The rate resolves on the row. Each timesheet row carries its own job and trade level, so a worker can have two classifications in one day, priced separately. Appello takes the worker's classification as of that date, the agreement version in effect that day and the job's wage region, and finds the rate.
• Overtime and the crew. Foremen enter the whole crew's hours in bulk; overtime rule sets split the hours by daily and weekly thresholds, set per wage region. If a worker has no active trade level for the job's region, bulk entry skips that worker's hours and names them in a warning, so the foreman fixes the classification instead of submitting a guessed rate.
• Closing the week. Timesheets are approved at two levels, supervisor then admin, and the payroll week is locked. The Timesheet Log shows one row per entry with date, worker, classification, job, wage region and hours at each rate, and exports to CSV. The Job Employees Timesheet Report shows each worker's hours and pay on a job for the week.
• Your payroll stays your payroll. Approved hours go out as a file for QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 50 US or CSV, or push to QuickBooks Online. Your payroll provider runs deductions and net pay and completes the certified payroll from hours that were classified on site.

Bring a wage determination and last week's timesheets for one prevailing wage job to a demo, and we'll set up the job and price the week in front of you. See Timesheets and Human Resources.

FAQ#

Is the WH-347 form required?
No. DOL says use of the WH-347 is optional, but the weekly payroll information and the signed statement of compliance are required on Davis-Bacon work. Ask the contracting agency which format it wants.

Does Davis-Bacon require overtime?
The Davis-Bacon Act sets rates; overtime comes from the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, which requires time and a half over 40 hours in a workweek on prime contracts over $100,000. Your collective agreement may require more.

Can fringe benefits be paid in cash?
Yes. The determination sets a fringe amount, and you can meet it with contributions to bona fide plans, cash paid to the worker, or a mix. The WH-347 has separate columns for each.

How long do I keep prevailing wage payroll records?
At least 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is complete, under 29 CFR 5.5. State rules may differ.

Sources#

All accessed October 14, 2026.

• U.S. Department of Labor, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
• U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 and instructions
• U.S. Department of Labor, Dollar threshold amounts for state prevailing wage laws (last revised January 1, 2023)
• 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions and related matters: (a)(1)(i) classifications, (a)(3) records and certified payrolls, (a)(4) apprentices
• California Department of Industrial Relations, eCPR frequently asked questions and Public works contractor registration
• Appello documentation, Employment Agreements, Human Resources Settings and Timesheet Log

Related reading#

• Understanding Union Payroll Complexity: A Primer for ICI Contractors
• Managing Union Payroll Complexity: A Guide for Payroll Admins
• How Do You Stop Re-Typing Timesheets into QuickBooks?
• Apprenticeship Programs and Ratio Requirements
• Appello Timesheets