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The compliance library
Guides, cited to the statute
Prevailing-wage compliance is unforgiving because the rules are specific. These are the ones that decide whether a public-works payment clears. Written to be useful to the people who have to get them right.
Certified payroll: weekly or monthly, and what holds payment
How California certified payroll works under Labor Code §1771 and SB 854, when records are due through DIR eCPR, and the specific errors that let an awarding body hold your payment.
Read the guidePrevailing wage vs. Davis-Bacon: which set of rules applies
California state prevailing wage and the federal Davis-Bacon Act overlap and sometimes both apply. How to tell which wage determination and which certified-payroll forms govern your public-works project.
Read the guideThe 5× multiplier: prevailing wage & apprenticeship for energy credits
The Inflation Reduction Act ties the full clean-energy tax credit to prevailing-wage and apprenticeship compliance. What the 5× multiplier means for a developer, the thresholds, and what happens if you miss it.
Read the guideHow to read a California prevailing wage determination
Every craft and county has its own DIR determination, locked to the date the job was advertised for bid. What the basic rate and fringe columns mean, how holidays and overtime are set per trade, and why the footnotes still owe you money.
Read the guideWH-347: the federal certified payroll form, line by line
Davis-Bacon requires a signed, weekly certified payroll on covered federal and federally-assisted construction. What each column of WH-347 asks for, what the Statement of Compliance actually certifies, and the errors that stop a payment.
Read the guideFringe benefits on prevailing wage: cash, plans, and the netting trap
Prevailing wage is base pay plus fringe, tracked as two separate obligations under Labor Code §1773.1. Why you can't cover a base-rate shortfall with a fringe surplus, and how a fringe error gets caught.
Read the guideApprenticeship on public works: DAS-140, DAS-142, ratios & penalties
Labor Code §1777.5 requires contractors on an apprenticeable craft to employ apprentices within a set ratio, to notify the apprenticeship committees of the contract award, to request dispatch, and to fund apprenticeship training; the DAS-140 and DAS-142 forms and their deadlines come from 8 CCR §230 and §230.1. What each step requires, and what §1777.7 penalizes when it's missed.
Read the guideOvertime and shift pay on prevailing-wage jobs, done right
Prevailing-wage overtime is not FLSA overtime. How the eight-hour day under Labor Code §1815 works, what rate the premium is computed on, why Saturday, Sunday, and holiday hours often carry their own multiplier, and where the math actually breaks.
Read the guidePrevailing-wage penalties: §1775, §1813, restitution & debarment
What actually happens when a certified payroll comes up short on a California public-works job: the back-wage restitution, the per-worker penalties under Labor Code §1775 and §1813, apprenticeship exposure under §1777.7, and how withheld payments and debarment fit together.
Read the guideDIR contractor registration (SB 854): who must register and file
Since SB 854, working on California public works requires active DIR contractor registration, not just a contractor's license. What the registration covers, the annual renewal, the awarding body's separate PWC-100 project filing, and what happens if you work unregistered.
Read the guideDBE/MBE participation and the commercially-useful-function test
Meeting a DBE goal on a federal-aid contract isn't just about the percentage; it's about whether the DBE actually performed a commercially useful function under 49 CFR Part 26. What the test requires, how it's reported, and what a pass-through arrangement risks.
Read the guideAB 5 for contractors: the ABC test and audit exposure
Labor Code §2775 makes every worker a presumed employee unless the hiring entity proves all three prongs of the ABC test. What misclassification costs in EDD assessments, Labor Code §226.8 penalties, and lost standing on public work.
Read the guideI-9 and E-Verify for federal contractors: the FAR clause and common errors
Form I-9 is universal; E-Verify usually isn't, until a federal contract carries FAR 52.222-54. What the clause requires, the paperwork errors that actually get cited, and how long the file has to survive.
Read the guideOSHA 300A and electronic ITA: the March 2 construction deadline
Which employers must keep OSHA 300/300A/301 logs, when the electronic ITA submission is due, and California's separate Injury and Illness Prevention Program obligation.
Read the guideSWPPP and the Construction General Permit: SMARTS deadlines that carry fines
California's Construction General Permit runs on its own calendar, separate from your project schedule. What the SMARTS system requires, how Risk Level drives the workload, and what actually gets cited.
Read the guideCalifornia's 20-day preliminary notice and lien/stop-notice deadlines
A subcontractor can be owed real money, on solid ground, and still lose every enforcement right in the Civil Code by missing a date. How the 20-day preliminary notice, lien deadlines, and public-work stop notices actually work.
Read the guideSAM.gov and set-asides (8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone): getting eligible for federal work
Registration, certification, and eligibility are three different things, granted by different agencies on different timelines. What a contractor actually needs before bidding on federal or federally-assisted work.
Read the guideSend your last certified payroll for a $395 review
We return a dollar-quantified read of anything that could hold a payment or trigger a penalty: $395 flat.
Request a compliance reviewWould your last filing survive an audit?
You will not catch most compliance errors by reading the payroll. They show up months later as withheld money. Find out before the awarding body does.
Request a compliance review