Understand certified payroll and prevailing wage basics for a public-works painting contract subject to the Davis-Bacon Act

Steps

1. Confirm the contract is Davis-Bacon-covered: federally funded/assisted construction, alteration, or repair (explicitly including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works over the statutory dollar threshold
2. Pull the applicable wage determination for the project's location and work classification (e.g., painter, blaster) from the current source DOL directs contractors to use, since wage determinations are location- and trade-specific and updated periodically
3. Confirm which certified payroll form version is currently required — DOL updated the WH-347 certified payroll form (new version released in the 2025 timeframe) — via dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347 rather than using an old cached copy
4. Submit a weekly certified payroll report (including 'no-work' weeks) with the signed Statement of Compliance within the timeframe required by the contracting agency (commonly within 7 days of the pay date), documenting names, classifications, hours, rates, and fringe benefits for every worker
5. Note DOL's broader 2023-2025 Davis-Bacon regulatory overhaul when scoping compliance, and confirm current civil penalty amounts and any state-specific certified-payroll portal (many state DOTs and awarding agencies require electronic submission through their own system in addition to or instead of a raw WH-347)