To staff a prevailing wage or Davis-Bacon project, use a staffing partner that pays every worker at least the wage determination rate for their classification, pays weekly, and produces weekly certified payroll with a signed Statement of Compliance for you to pass up the chain. Cruitfly employs its workers on W2 and produces certified payroll reports for clients every week.
Prevailing wage work punishes vague answers. If a staffing firm says "we can do certified payroll" and then sends a spreadsheet three weeks late, the prime contractor is the one holding the gap, because the prime is responsible for its subcontractors' compliance. This guide explains when the rules apply, what a wage determination and a certified payroll actually contain, and exactly which parts your staffing partner should own.
The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts apply to federally funded or assisted contracts over $2,000 for the construction, alteration or repair of public buildings or public works, and many states apply their own prevailing wage laws to state-funded work.
For a government or university job, read the contract before you staff it. The labor standards clauses and an attached wage determination tell you which regime you are under.
Yes, staffing agency workers are covered by Davis-Bacon when they perform the duties of a laborer or mechanic on the site of a covered project, regardless of who their employer is or what their contract says.
The Department of Labor's regulations define "employed" to include every person performing the duties of a laborer or mechanic on a covered project, regardless of any contractual relationship alleged to exist. Under 29 CFR 5.5, all laborers and mechanics working on the site must be paid unconditionally, not less often than once a week, at rates not less than those in the wage determination. So a staffed crew's hours belong on certified payroll the same as anyone else's.
A wage determination is the published schedule listing the prevailing wage and fringe rate for each labor classification on a specific project in a specific county, and it sets the minimum each worker must be paid for the work they perform.
Before you place a staffing order, map each role you need to a classification on the wage determination. If a role you need is not listed, raise it with the contracting agency early, because additional classifications have to be conformed before workers can be paid correctly.
Certified payroll is a weekly report, for each week covered work is performed, of each worker's classification, hours, wage rate, fringe benefits and deductions, signed with a Statement of Compliance, and the prime contractor is responsible for submitting it for every subcontractor on the job.
The key rules, from the Davis-Bacon contract clauses:
The Department of Labor updated these regulations in a final rule that took effect on October 23, 2023, so older templates and habits are worth rechecking.
Your staffing partner should handle everything that comes with being the worker's employer: paying at least the wage determination rate by classification every week, preparing and signing certified payroll for its workers, and keeping the records, while the prime contractor collects and submits the certified payrolls to the agency.
| Task | Staffing partner (the worker's W2 employer) | Prime contractor |
|---|---|---|
| Identify the regime and wage determination | Confirms it with you before the crew starts | Owns it through the contract |
| Map roles to classifications | Pays by the classification the worker actually performs | Confirms classifications and requests conformance through the contracting agency if one is missing |
| Pay wages and fringe | Pays at least the determination rate, weekly | Responsible for subcontractor compliance |
| Certified payroll | Prepares weekly certified payroll for its workers with a signed Statement of Compliance | Collects and submits all certified payrolls to the agency |
| Site posting | Confirms the posting is where its workers can see it | Keeps the wage determination and WH-1321 posted at the site, a duty its subcontractors share |
| Records | Keeps payroll records for at least 3 years after the prime contract is complete | Keeps its own records and oversees subcontractors' |
| Insurance | Carries workers' compensation and provides a certificate of insurance | Verifies coverage before mobilization |
Use this six-point checklist when you bring a staffing partner onto a covered job:
Cruitfly's payroll team is trained on certified payroll and produces reports for clients on a weekly basis, using payroll software built for it, on federal Davis-Bacon work and on state prevailing wage programs as the project requires.
Every Cruitfly worker is a W2 Cruitfly employee, and Cruitfly carries workers' compensation on every worker in every state it operates in, with a certificate of insurance available on request. Workers are paid weekly. If you have already sourced your own workers and need the payroll and compliance side handled, Cruitfly's payroll services cover that too. Bring us the project requirements and we will confirm exactly what we can cover before you commit. The compliance page sets out the full picture, and the construction staffing glossary defines every payroll term used here.
On cost: the wage determination sets the wage floor the bill rate is built on, and weekly certified payroll is part of the administration inside that rate. Cruitfly's page on what drives the cost of construction staffing explains how.
A prevailing wage job goes smoothly when the staffing partner is set up to behave like a compliant subcontractor from day one: paid by classification, paid weekly, certified payroll on a fixed day, records kept. Settle those points before the crew mobilizes and the reporting becomes routine instead of a gap you discover three weeks in.
Certified payroll: A weekly payroll report required on federally funded and many state-funded construction projects. It records each worker's hours, classification, wage rate, and deductions, and is signed as a statement of compliance. Federal projects use Form WH-347.
Davis-Bacon Act: The federal law requiring that workers on federally funded construction contracts above a threshold be paid at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits, as determined by the Department of Labor.
Prevailing wage: The wage and fringe benefit rate set for a given trade in a given locality, which must be paid on covered public projects. Federal rates come from Davis-Bacon determinations; many states run their own prevailing wage programs with their own rates and reporting.
Wage determination: The published schedule listing the prevailing wage and fringe rate for each labor classification on a specific project, in a specific county.
Statement of Compliance: The signed certification that accompanies each certified payroll, confirming the payroll is correct and that workers were paid at least the applicable rates.
Often, yes. The Related Acts extend Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions to construction that federal agencies assist through grants, loans, loan guarantees and insurance. Check the labor standards clauses and wage determination in your contract.
Yes. Every person performing the duties of a laborer or mechanic on a covered project is treated as employed regardless of any contractual relationship, so staffed workers must be paid at least the wage determination rate and appear on certified payroll.
Weekly, for each week in which covered work is performed. Each certified payroll is accompanied by a signed Statement of Compliance.
No. WH-347 is an optional form. The required weekly information may be submitted on WH-347 or in any other format that includes it.
Federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations are published on SAM.gov, and the applicable determination should be included in your contract. State prevailing wage rates come from the state agency that runs the program.
The Department of Labor's state prevailing wage table lists Indiana, which repealed its law in 2015, and North Carolina among the states without a state prevailing wage law. Federal Davis-Bacon requirements still apply in both states on federally funded or assisted projects.
Yes. Our payroll team is trained on certified payroll and our software produces certified payroll reports for clients on a weekly basis.
Payroll records on Davis-Bacon covered work must be kept for at least 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is completed.
Send us the contract's wage determination and the roles you need, and we will confirm the classifications and the weekly certified payroll schedule before you commit. Request a crew or call 317-426-7703.
Cody is co-owner of Cruitfly, where he leads business development and works with commercial and industrial contractors to staff abatement, demolition, insulation, and scaffolding crews across the country. Connect with Cody on LinkedIn.
Need a certified crew on site? Tell us the project, the start date and the certifications you need. Typical fill is 48 to 72 hours, and every worker is a W2 Cruitfly employee covered by our workers' compensation. Prefer to talk? Call 317-426-7703.